Mahabharata 7.49.8 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 49, Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

पुनश्चैव वसातीयाज्जघान रथिनो दश । केकयानां रथान्‌ सप्त हत्वा च दश कुञ्जरान्‌

Transliteration

punaś caiva vasātīyāj jaghāna rathino daśa | kekayānāṁ rathān sapta hatvā ca daśa kuñjarān |

Translation

پھر اسی وِساتیہ نسل کے اُس سورما نے دس رتھیوں کو قتل کیا۔ کیکیوں کے سات رتھ تباہ کر کے اُس نے دس ہاتھیوں کو بھی ہلاک کر ڈالا۔

Word by Word

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

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

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• वसातीयात्: from (the place/person) Vasātīya
• वसातीयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसातीय
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• जघान: slew/killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular

• रथिनः: chariot-warriors
• रथिनः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• केकयानाम्: of the Kekayas
• Type: Noun
• Root: केकय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सप्त: seven
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

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

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कुञ्जरान्: elephants
• कुञ्जरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vasātīya (lineage/warrior designation)
• Kekayas
• rathinaḥ (chariot-warriors)
• rathāḥ (chariots)
• kuñjarāḥ (war-elephants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not teach by direct instruction; it teaches by depiction: war reduces living beings and martial resources to counts of kills and losses. It invites reflection on the ethical burden of violence even when performed under the banner of kṣatriya duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a fresh surge of battlefield success by a warrior identified as 'Vasātīya': he kills ten chariot-fighters, destroys seven Kekaya chariots, and slays ten war-elephants—an episode emphasizing the intensity and scale of the fighting.