Mahabharata 7.119.34 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 119, Shloka 34

Śaineya–Bhūriśravas: Genealogy, Svayaṃvara Contest, and the Maheśvara Boon

Devanagari script

व्यूहस्यैव पुनर्दधारें गत्वा द्रोणो व्यवस्थित: । वातायमानैस्तैरश्वैर्नीतो वृष्णिशरार्दितै:

Transliteration

vyūhasyaiva punar dadhāre gatvā droṇo vyavasthitaḥ | vātāyamānais tair aśvair nīto vṛṣṇiśarārditaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Droṇa kehrte zurück und bezog erneut Stellung am eigentlichen Tor der Schlachtordnung. Seine Pferde—mit windgleicher Schnelligkeit getrieben, doch von den Pfeilen des Vṛṣṇi-Kriegers (Sātyaki) gequält—trugen ihn dorthin.

Word by Word

• व्यूहस्य: of the battle-array
• व्यूहस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यूह
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• दधार: held/maintained
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• गत्वा: having gone
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• द्रोणः: Droṇa
• द्रोणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• व्यवस्थितः: stationed/standing firm
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यवस्थित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• वातायमानैः: moving like the wind / wind-swift
• वातायमानैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वातायमान
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural, शानच् (present participle, parasmaipada sense)

• तैः: by those
• तैः: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अश्वैः: by horses
• अश्वैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• नीतः: led/carried
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नीत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• वृष्णि-शर-अर्दितैः: afflicted by the Vṛṣṇi’s arrows (i.e., Sātyaki’s)
• वृष्णि-शर-अर्दितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृष्णिशरार्दित
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Droṇācārya)
• Sātyaki
• Vyūha (battle formation)
• Chariot horses
• Arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: a commander must reoccupy and defend a strategic point (the formation’s ‘door’) despite pain and disruption. It also shows how agency in war is shared—human resolve and the chariot-team’s momentum together determine outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Drona, pressured by Sātyaki’s arrow-fire, ends up returning to the entrance of the Kaurava battle-formation and stands there again. His horses, rushing like the wind while wounded by the Vṛṣṇi warrior’s arrows, carry him back to that position.