Shloka 54

अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया

Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते कर्णपर्वणि संकुलयुद्धे चतुष्पठ्चाशत्तमो5ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate karṇaparvaṇi saṅkulayuddhe catuṣpañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

“Iti”—Như vậy kết thúc chương thứ năm mươi tư, mang tên “Trận chiến rối ren và xen lẫn,” trong Karṇa Parva của Mahābhārata tôn kính. Lời thuật của Sañjaya khép lại phần này theo nghi thức, nhấn mạnh tính chất không ngừng rối rắm của giao tranh và cách sử thi đặt bạo lực trong chân trời đạo lý rộng lớn của dharma.

Word by Word

• इति: thus; end-quote marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• श्री: auspiciousness; venerable (honorific)
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• महाभारते: in the Mahābhārata
• महाभारते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभारत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• कर्णपर्वणि: in the Karṇa-parvan (Book of Karṇa)
• कर्णपर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्णपर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• संकुलयुद्धे: in the confused/chaotic battle
• संकुलयुद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संकुलयुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• चतुष्पञ्चाशत्तमः: fifty-fourth
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुष्पञ्चाशत् + तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अध्यायः: chapter
• अध्यायः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्याय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mahābhārata
• Karṇa Parva
• Saṅkula-yuddha (the ‘confused battle’ section)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

This is a colophon (chapter-ending formula), not a doctrinal verse. Its ethical force is indirect: it frames the war narrative as a grave, structured account within the Mahābhārata’s dharma-discourse, reminding the reader that even chaotic violence is being recorded and judged within a moral and historical memory.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text signals the close of a chapter in the Karṇa Parva, specifically the fifty-fourth chapter themed around ‘saṅkula-yuddha’—a confused, intermingled battle. It functions as an editorial/narrative marker concluding the section Sanjaya has been recounting.