Shloka 293

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणेभ्यो महाहेंभ्य: सो<श्व॒त्थामैष गर्जति । जिसके जन्म लेनेपर आचार्य द्रोणने परम सुयोग्य ब्राह्मणोंको एक सहसख्र गौएँ दान की थीं, वही अश्वत्थामा यह गर्जना कर रहा है

Transliteration

brāhmaṇebhyo mahāhebhyas so 'śvatthāmaiṣa garjati | yasya janma-lābhe ācārya-droṇena parama-suyogya-brāhmaṇebhyaḥ eka-sahasraṃ gāvo dānīkṛtāḥ, sa evāśvatthāmāyaṃ garjanāṃ karoti |

Translation

Arjuna sprach: „Vor den großen und ehrwürdigen Brahmanen—das ist Aśvatthāmā, der da brüllt. Bei seiner Geburt schenkte Lehrer Droṇa tausend Kühe als Gabe den höchst würdigen Brahmanen; und doch ist es eben dieser Aśvatthāmā, der nun in Hochmut dröhnt.“

Word by Word

ब्राह्मणेभ्यःto the Brahmins

महाहेभ्यःto the great (ones)

सःhe

अश्वत्थामाAshvatthama

एषःthis (one)

गर्जतिroars, bellows

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Aśvatthāmā

Droṇa

Brahmins

cows (gift of a thousand cows)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Noble birth-rites and charitable acts (such as Droṇa’s gifting of cows to worthy Brahmins) do not automatically ensure righteous conduct; one’s present choices in anger and war reveal character. The verse highlights the moral dissonance between sacred generosity and later violent arrogance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna identifies Aśvatthāmā as the one roaring and draws attention to his background—Droṇa’s celebratory gift of a thousand cows at his birth—implying that despite such auspicious beginnings and Brahminical associations, Aśvatthāmā is now acting with aggressive pride in the battlefield context.