Mahabharata 7.49.13 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 49, Shloka 13

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall

Devanagari script

गदावेगेन महता व्यायामेन च मोहित:

Transliteration

gadāvegena mahatā vyāyāmena ca mohitaḥ śatruvīranāśano 'bhimanyur acetāḥ pṛthivyāṁ nipapāta | rājan evaṁ tasmin yuddhasthale bahubhir yodhakaiḥ samāgatyaikākī abhiman yuḥ hataḥ ||

Translation

سنجے نے کہا—گدا کے ضربوں کے شدید زور اور مسلسل مشقت سے مغلوب ہو کر، دشمن کے سورماؤں کا قتال کرنے والا ابھیمنیو بے ہوش ہو کر زمین پر گر پڑا۔ اے راجن، یوں اس میدانِ جنگ میں بہت سے یودھاؤں نے مل کر تنہا ابھیمنیو کو مار ڈالا۔

Word by Word

• गदा-वेगेन: by the mace’s speed/force
• गदा-वेगेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदावेग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• महतā: great
• महतā: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• व्यायामेन: by exertion/fatigue
• व्यायामेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यायाम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मोहितः: bewildered, stunned
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुह्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Rājan)
• Abhimanyu
• gadā (mace)
• pṛthivī (earth)
• yuddhasthala (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical collapse that can occur in war: when many attack and kill a lone, exhausted warrior, the outward 'victory' is stained by adharma. It frames Abhimanyu’s fall as both physical (fatigue and overpowering blows) and moral tragedy (unfair collective killing), foreshadowing escalating retaliation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu, overwhelmed by powerful mace-strikes and exhaustion, loses consciousness and falls to the ground. In that vulnerable state on the battlefield, multiple warriors converge and kill him while he is alone.