Shloka 25

Devanagari script

क एष कौरवान्‌ दीर्णानवस्थाप्य महारथ:

Transliteration

ka eṣa kauravān dīrṇān avasthāpya mahārathaḥ

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sagte: „Wer ist dieser große Wagenkrieger, der die zerschlagenen Kaurava-Heere aufgehalten und sie wieder standfest gemacht hat?“

Word by Word

• कः: who?
• कः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एषः: this (man)
• एषः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कौरवान्: the Kauravas
• कौरवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दीर्णान्: shattered, torn, broken
• दीर्णान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अवस्थाप्य: having set/placed, having stationed
• अवस्थाप्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-स्था (धातु: स्था)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada/Atmanepada-neutral (gerund)

• महारथः: a great chariot-warrior
• महारथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Kauravas
• mahāratha (great chariot-warrior)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid chaos and moral strain, discernment begins with clear inquiry: Yudhiṣṭhira seeks to identify the agent restoring order, highlighting the ethical and strategic need to understand who is shaping events before responding.

What is happening in the narrative?

On the battlefield, the Kaurava ranks have been broken and thrown into disorder; a powerful mahāratha has rallied and re-formed them. Yudhiṣṭhira notices this reversal and asks who that warrior is.