Shloka 74

Devanagari script

यस्य चक्रे स्वयं विष्णु: सारथ्यं जगतः प्रभु: । मनस्वी बलवान शूर: कृतास्त्रो5थ तपोधन:

Transliteration

yasya cakre svayaṁ viṣṇuḥ sārathyaṁ jagataḥ prabhuḥ | manasvī balavān śūraḥ kṛtāstro 'tha tapodhanaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Für ihn übernahm Viṣṇu selbst—der Herr der Welt—die Rolle des Wagenlenkers. Er war hochgesinnt, mächtig und heldenhaft; in den Waffen geübt und zudem reich an asketischem Verdienst.“

Word by Word

यस्यof whom/whose

चक्रेmade/did

स्वयम्himself

विष्णुःVishnu

सारथ्यम्the role of charioteer/charioteership

जगतःof the world

प्रभुःlord/master

मनस्वीhigh-minded/spirited

बलवान्strong

शूरःhero/warrior

कृतास्त्रःone who has mastered weapons (trained/armed)

अथand/then

तपोधनःascetic-sage (one whose wealth is austerity)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa)

chariot (cakra/cakre context)

charioteer (sārathi role)

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 elevates the warrior’s stature by noting that the Lord himself accepted a humble service-role (charioteer). Ethically, it underscores that true sovereignty can express itself as service, and that strength and skill are most complete when joined with inner resolve and ascetic discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a principal warrior (implicitly Arjuna) by listing his qualities and, above all, the extraordinary fact that Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa personally became his charioteer—signaling divine support and the exceptional significance of the conflict.