Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 43

Devanagari script

व्यवहारं गदायुद्धे पार्थिवस्थ च पातनम्‌ | तदाख्याय तत: सर्वे द्रोणपुत्रस्य भारत ।।

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

vyavahāraṃ gadāyuddhe pārthivasya ca pātanam |

tad ākhyāya tataḥ sarve droṇaputrasya bhārata ||

(vārtikā: duḥkhasaṃtaptāḥ śokopahatacetasaḥ |

dhyātvā ca suciraṃ kālaṃ jagmur āgatā yathāgatam ||)

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Bhārata, sau khi thuật lại cho con trai Droṇa mọi điều—cuộc đấu chùy diễn ra thế nào và nhà vua bị quật ngã ra sao—những sứ giả ấy, bị nỗi đau thiêu đốt và tâm trí bị sầu khổ đánh gục, đã trầm ngâm rất lâu. Rồi, trong cơn thống thiết và than khóc, họ ra đi như lúc đã đến.”

Word by Word

• व्यवहारम्: conduct, manner (of action)
• व्यवहारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यवहार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गदायुद्धे: in the mace-fight
• गदायुद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदायुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पार्थिवस्य: of the king
• पार्थिवस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

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

• पातनम्: the felling, bringing down
• पातनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that (account)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आख्याय: having told, having reported
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-ख्या
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सर्वे: all (of them)
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• द्रोणपुत्रस्य: of Droṇa's son (Aśvatthāman)
• द्रोणपुत्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोणपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• वार्तिकाः: messengers, reporters of news
• वार्तिकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वार्तिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दुःखसंतप्ताः: tormented by sorrow
• दुःखसंतप्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःख-संतप्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शोकोपहतचेतसः: whose minds were struck down by grief
• शोकोपहतचेतसः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोक-उपहत-चेतस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ध्यात्वा: having pondered, having reflected
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्यै
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada

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

• सुचिरम्: for a long time
• सुचिरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुचिर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कालम्: time
• कालम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• जग्मुः: they went
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• आगतम्: come, arrived (as they had come)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-गम्
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• भारत (Bhārata / Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• द्रोणपुत्र (Droṇaputra = Aśvatthāman)
• पार्थिव (the king—contextually Duryodhana in the mace-duel episode)
• गदायुद्ध (mace-duel)
• संदेशवाहक (messengers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral weight of wartime conduct: how a duel is carried out and how a fallen opponent is treated become ethically charged facts that generate grief, reflection, and consequences beyond the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Messengers arrive and report to Aśvatthāman the full account of the mace-duel and the king’s downfall. After delivering the news, they linger in sorrowful contemplation and then depart.