Shloka 17

Devanagari script

गोवासदासमीयानां वसातीनां च भारत । प्राच्यानां वाटधानानां भोजानां चाभिमानिनाम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | govāsadāsamīyānāṃ vasātīnāṃ ca bhārata | prācyānāṃ vāṭadhānānāṃ bhojānāṃ cābhimāninām ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O Bhārata! Die stolzen Krieger der Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna und Bhoja — ja, das ganze Heer der Kṣatriyas — rückten gegen dich und Bhīmasena vor, doch sie wurden vernichtet.

Word by Word

• गोवासदासमीयानाम्: of the Govāsa and Dāsamīya (people)
• गोवासदासमीयानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोवास + दासमीया
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वसातीनाम्: of the Vasāti (people)
• वसातीनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसाति
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्राच्यानाम्: of the Prācyas (easterners)
• प्राच्यानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राच्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वाटधानानाम्: of the Vāṭadhānas (people)
• वाटधानानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाटधान
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• भोजानाम्: of the Bhojas
• भोजानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: भोज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• अभिमानिनाम्: of the proud (ones)
• अभिमानिनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभिमानिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Bhīmasena
• Govāsa (people)
• Dāsamīya (people)
• Vasāti (people)
• Prācya (eastern people)
• Vāṭadhāna (people)
• Bhoja (people/region)
• Kṣatriyas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical warning that abhimāna (pride) and reliance on sheer military might do not guarantee victory; in the Mahābhārata’s moral frame, outcomes in war are shaped by valor, discipline, and the deeper currents of dharma and adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that contingents from several peoples—Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna, and Bhoja—advanced toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s side and encountered Bhīmasena (and the Kuru forces addressed as ‘you’), but were annihilated in the fighting.