Mahabharata 7.21.36 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 36

द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping

Devanagari script

शोभमानां ध्वजे चास्य वेदीमद्राक्ष्म भारत । हिमवच्छिखराकारां चरत: संयुगे भूशम्‌

Transliteration

śobhamānāṃ dhvaje cāsya vedīm adrākṣma bhārata | himavacchikharākārāṃ carataḥ saṃyuge bhūśam ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O Bhārata, wir sahen auf seinem Banner das Zeichen eines Opferaltars, hell erstrahlend. Während der Ācārya mit wilder Schnelligkeit durch die Schlacht zog, erschien dieses Altarzeichen prächtig — wie ein Gipfel des Himālaya.

Word by Word

• शोभमानाम्: shining, resplendent
• शोभमानाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोभमान (शुभ्/शोभ् धातोः वर्तमानकृदन्त-प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ध्वजे: on the banner/standard
• ध्वजे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अस्य: of him/this (his)
• अस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद् (इदम्-प्रातिपदिकस्य षष्ठी एकवचनम्: अस्य)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• वेदीम्: altar; (here) the altar-mark/emblem
• वेदीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेदी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अद्राक्ष्म: we saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Aorist (लुङ्), 1st, Plural, Parasmaipada

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• हिमवत्: of Himavat (the Himalaya)
• हिमवत्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: हिमवत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शिखर: of a peak/summit
• शिखर: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखर
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• आकाराम्: having the form/shape
• आकाराम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकार
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• चरतः: of (him) moving/roaming
• चरतः: Sambandha
• Type: Verb (participle)
• Root: चर्
• Form: Present participle, Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• भूशम्: greatly, exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूशम्

• भरतनन्दन: O delight of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: भरतनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Ācārya (Droṇa)
• Himavat (Himālaya)
• dhvaja (banner/standard)
• vedī (sacrificial altar emblem)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how symbols associated with sacred order (the vedī/altar) can appear amid warfare, suggesting the tension in the epic between ritual-dharma and the violent necessities of battle; it also underscores how perception and imagery shape moral and emotional responses to war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa, moving swiftly across the battlefield, bore a banner marked with a vedī emblem, which looked radiant and lofty like a Himalayan summit.