Shloka 3

Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)

Devanagari script

कृतशौचांस्ततस्तांस्तु पाण्डवान्‌ भरतर्षभान्‌ । आदाय विविशु: सर्वे पुरं वारणसाह्नयम्‌,मरणाशौचसे निवृत्त होकर भरतवंशशिरोमणि पाण्डवोंने जब शुद्धिका स्नान कर लिया, तब उन्हें साथ लेकर सबने हस्तिनापुर नगरमें प्रवेश किया

Transliteration

kṛtaśaucāṁs tatas tāṁs tu pāṇḍavān bharatarṣabhān | ādāya viviśuḥ sarve puraṁ vāraṇasāhvayam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nachdem die Pāṇḍavas—die Vorzüglichsten unter den Bhāratas—die vorgeschriebenen Reinigungsriten (śauca) vollzogen und das rituelle Bad genommen hatten, nahmen alle Ältesten sie mit sich und zogen in die Stadt ein, die Vāraṇasāhvaya (Hastināpura) genannt wird.

Word by Word

कृतशौचान्having performed purification (having bathed/cleansed)

ततःthen/thereupon

तान्those (them)

तुbut/indeed

पाण्डवान्the Pandavas

भरतर्षभान्bulls among the Bharatas (best of the Bharata race)

आदायhaving taken (along)

विविशुःthey entered

सर्वेall

पुरम्the city

वारणसाह्नयम्of the Vāraṇasāhna (i.e., Hāstinapura/elephant-city region)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍavas

Bharatas

Vāraṇasāhvaya (Hastināpura)

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 dharma through śauca: after a period of impurity (aśauca), one should complete purification rites before resuming communal, civic, or royal participation—linking personal discipline with social and ethical order.

What is happening in the narrative?

After completing purification, the Pāṇḍavas are formally escorted by all concerned into the capital city, Vāraṇasāhvaya (Hastināpura), marking a return to public life and courtly setting.