Shloka 31

Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)

Devanagari script

ततो युधिषिरो राजा हतं मत्वा वृकोदरम्‌

Transliteration

tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā hataṃ matvā vṛkodaram

Translation

ثم إنّ الملك يودهيشثيرا، إذ ظنّ أن فريكودارا (بهيما) قد قُتل، أصابته صدمةٌ أخلاقية—ذلك الوجع الذي يعتري المرء حين يبدو أن الحرب تلتهم حتى أقوى الحماة، فتختبر ثبات الحاكم على الدارما وسط اضطراب ساحة القتال.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पञ्चमी-अर्थे: 'from/thereafter')

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• हतम्: slain/killed
• हतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम् (कर्मणि भूतकृदन्तः; 'slain')

• मत्वा: having thought/assuming
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मन् (धातु) → मत्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्यय (absolutive): 'having thought/considered'

• वृकोदरम्: Vṛkodara (Bhīma)
• वृकोदरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृकोदर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how quickly perception in war can turn into despair, and how a dharmic ruler must face grief and uncertainty without losing discernment; ethical steadiness is tested precisely when reports of death and defeat seem credible.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira comes to believe that Vṛkodara (Bhīma) has been killed, setting up an emotional and strategic crisis for the Pāṇḍavas amid the turmoil of battle.