Shloka 26

Devanagari script

एवमुक्तो5वहत्‌ पार्थ कृष्णो द्रोणात्मजान्तिके । जैत्रेण विधिना55हूतं वायुरिन्द्रमिवाध्वरे,अर्जुनके ऐसा कहनेपर श्रीकृष्णने उन्हें विजयशील रथके द्वारा द्रोणकुमारके निकट पहुँचा दिया। ठीक वैसे ही जैसे वैदिक विधिसे आवाहित इन्द्रदेवताको वायुदेव यज्ञमें पहुँचा देते हैं

Transliteration

evam ukto ’vahat pārthaḥ kṛṣṇo droṇātmajāntike | jaitreṇa vidhināhūtaṃ vāyur indram ivādhvare ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: So angesprochen, lenkte Kṛṣṇa Pārtha (Arjuna) auf seinem siegtragenden Wagen in die Nähe von Droṇas Sohn. Es war, als würde Vāyu nach der rechten vedischen Vorschrift den herbeigerufenen Indra in das Opfergeleit führen.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been addressed/said to

अवहत्carried/conveyed

पार्थम्Arjuna (son of Pritha)

कृष्णःKrishna

द्रोणात्मजof Drona's son (Ashvatthaman)

अन्तिकेnear, in the vicinity

जैत्रेणby/with the victorious (chariot)

विधिनाby the prescribed rite/method

आहूतम्invoked/called

वायुःVayu (wind-god)

इन्द्रम्Indra

इवlike, as

अध्वरेin the sacrifice

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kṛṣṇa

Arjuna (Pārtha)

Aśvatthāmā (Droṇātmaja)

Vāyu

Indra

chariot (ratha)

sacrifice (adhvara)

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 disciplined agency: Kṛṣṇa’s guidance moves Arjuna toward a decisive confrontation, and the ritual simile (vidhi, āhūta) suggests that power and action are most effective—and ethically framed—when directed through proper order and right method, even in the chaos of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

After being addressed, Kṛṣṇa, acting as charioteer, drives Arjuna in a victory-bearing chariot to the vicinity of Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā, setting up their encounter; the poet compares this to Vāyu bringing the invoked Indra into the sacrificial arena.