Shloka 57
Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)
Devanagari script
नातिदूरापयातं तु कृतबुद्धि पलायने
Transliteration
nātidūrāpayātaṃ tu kṛtabuddhi palāyane
Translation
สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—เขายังไปได้ไม่ไกลนัก เพราะในใจได้ตัดสินแล้วว่าจะหนี; เจตนามุ่งสู่การหลบหนี มิใช่ความมั่นคงยืนหยัด
Word by Word
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
अतिदूरtoo far
अतिदूर:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअतिदूर
अपयातम्gone away / withdrawn
अपयातम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootअप-या (धातु: या)
Formneuter, accusative, singular, क्त (past passive participle)
तुbut, however
तु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु
कृतबुद्धिone who has resolved / determined
कृतबुद्धि:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootकृतबुद्धि
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
पलायनेin flight / in fleeing
पलायने:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootपलायन
Formneuter, locative, singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The line highlights the moral contrast between steadfastness in duty and a mind fixed on escape: once the intention (buddhi) is set toward flight, action quickly follows, revealing inner weakness amid the demands of war and kṣatriya responsibility.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior (implied from context) had only retreated a short distance, yet his mind was already made up for fleeing—indicating an incipient rout or loss of resolve on the battlefield.