Shloka 49

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनो5पि नृपति: परिवार्य महारणे । भीष्म॑ शान्तनवं तूर्ण प्रयात: शिबिरं प्रति,राजा दुर्योधन भी महायुद्धमें शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्मको घेरकर तुरंत ही अपने शिविरको लौट गया

Transliteration

duryodhano 'pi nṛpatiḥ parivārya mahāraṇe | bhīṣmaṃ śāntanavaṃ tūrṇaṃ prayātaḥ śibiraṃ prati ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: Ngay cả vua Duryodhana, sau khi vây quanh Bhīṣma—con của Śāntanu—giữa đại chiến, cũng lập tức rút lui, quay về doanh trại của mình.

Word by Word

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

अपिalso/even

नृपतिःthe king

परिवार्यhaving surrounded/encircled

महारणेin the great battle

भीष्मम्Bhishma

शान्तनवम्the son/descendant of Shantanu

तूर्णम्quickly

प्रयातःwent/returned

शिबिरम्camp

प्रतिtowards

राजाthe king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

Bhīṣma

Śāntanu

śibira (camp)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, even powerful leaders act under pressure and calculation; ethical steadiness (dharma-guided leadership) is tested when ambition and urgency dominate decisions, especially in relation to venerable elders like Bhīṣma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana, after surrounding Bhīṣma in the thick of the great battle, quickly departs and heads back toward his own military camp.