Shloka 16

Devanagari script

राजानं निहतं दृष्टवा तेडभिसारं तु मारिष । अभ्यद्रवन्त वेगेन चित्रसेनस्य सैनिका:,माननीय नरेश! अभिसार देशके अधिपति राजा चित्रसेनको मारा गया देख उनके सैनिक बड़े वेगसे भाग चले

Transliteration

rājānaṁ nihataṁ dṛṣṭvā teḍabhisāraṁ tu māriṣa | abhyadravanta vegena citrasenasya sainikāḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Thấy vua mình đã bị giết, các chiến binh xứ Abhisāra—hỡi bậc đáng kính—lao tới với tốc độ dữ dội; quân của Citraseṇa, bị chấn động và thúc bách bởi thôi thúc phải đáp trả trong chiến trận.

Word by Word

राजानम्the king

निहतम्slain

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

तेthey

अभिसारम्the attack/charge (assault)

तुbut/indeed

मारिषO sir! (term of address)

अभ्यद्रवन्ran towards / charged

वेगेनwith speed

चित्रसेनस्यof Chitrasena

सैनिकाःsoldiers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Citraseṇa

Abhisāra (region/people)

the king (Citraseṇa as ruler)

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 a battlefield ethic of loyalty and immediate response: the death of a leader triggers collective action—either retaliation or a desperate counter-move—showing how attachment to kingship and group duty can override fear and deliberation in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

After King Citraseṇa, the lord of Abhisāra, is seen slain, his soldiers surge forward at great speed, reacting to the shock of their leader’s fall and attempting to respond on the battlefield.