Mahabharata · 7.20.52–53
॥
Devanāgarī
तावकास् तु महाराज जयं लब्ध्वा महाहवे ॥
पाण्डवेयान् रणे जघ्नुर् द्रवमाणान् समन्ततः ॥
ते दानवा इवेन्द्रेण वध्यमाना महात्मना ॥
पाञ्चालाः केकया मत्स्याः समकम्पन्त भारत ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
tāvakās tu mahārāja jayaṃ labdhvā mahāhave ||
pāṇḍaveyān raṇe jaghnur dravamāṇān samantataḥ ||
te dānavā ivendreṇa vadhyamānā mahātmanā ||
pāñcālāḥ kekayā matsyāḥ samakampanta bhārata ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तावकाःtāvakāḥyour [warriors]; your [men]
तुtuindeed; —
महाराजmahārājaO great king; O great sovereign
जयम्jayamvictory; victory
लब्ध्वाlabdhvāhaving gained [won]; having won
महाहवेmahāhavein the great battle; in the great combat
पाण्डवेयान्pāṇḍaveyānthe Pandavas [followers of Pandu]; the Pandavas
रणेraṇein battle; in the fight
जघ्नुःjaghnuḥstruck down [slaughtered]; struck down
द्रवमाणान्dravamāṇānthe fleeing [those put to flight]; the fleeing
समन्ततःsamantataḥon every side [everywhere]; everywhere
तेtethey; they
दानवाःdānavāḥthe danavas [asuras]; [like] danavas
इवivaas if [like]; just as
इन्द्रेणindreṇaby Indra; by Indra
वध्यमानाःvadhyamānāḥbeing slaughtered [struck down]; being slaughtered
महात्मनाmahātmanāthe great-souled one [the mighty]; [that] great-souled one
पाञ्चालाःpāñcālāḥthe Panchalas; the Panchalas
केकयाःkekayāḥthe Kekayas; the Kekayas
मत्स्याःmatsyāḥthe Matsyas; the Matsyas
समकम्पन्तsamakampantashuddered [trembled]; trembled
भारतbhārataO Bharata [descendant of Bharata]; O Bharata
Translation
Your men, O great king, having won victory in the great battle, struck down the fleeing Pandavas on every side in the fight. Like danavas being slaughtered by the great Indra, the Panchalas, Kekayas, and Matsyas trembled, O Bharata.
Version
0a219557b551 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The day ends in the triumph of the Kauravas: the Pandavas flee, and their peoples tremble, 'like danavas being slaughtered by Indra.' But this very comparison holds a promise of the turn to come: in it, Drona and the Kauravas stand in the place of the danava-asuras, hunted by Indra, not in the place of the gods. Today's victor is likened to those who, at the end of the myth, are always overthrown. Notably, Sanjaya, loyal to Duryodhana, glorifies the victory of his army -- and yet the image he reaches for foretells its fate as that of the asuras. The verse teaches that the temporary triumph of an unjust cause does not cancel its final doom; that even praise of a victor may carry within it a sign of his fall; and that wise is he who beholds the fortune of the unrighteous without envy or despair, knowing that the wheel of dharma will turn, and the hunters will become the hunted.