Shloka 26

अक्षविजय-प्रसङ्गः

Escalation of Wagers and Shakuni’s Repeated Declarations of Victory

Devanagari script

जयद्रथेन च तथा कुरुभिश्चापि सर्वश: । ततः सर्वर्महाबाहुर्भ्रतृ भि: परिवारित:

Transliteration

jayadrathena ca tathā kurubhiś cāpi sarvaśaḥ | tataḥ sarvo mahābāhur bhrātṛbhiḥ parivāritaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: So umringten ihn Jayadratha und die Kurus von allen Seiten; dann stand jener starkarmige Held, von seinen Brüdern umgeben.

Word by Word

जयद्रथेनby Jayadratha

चand

तथाlikewise

कुरुभिःby the Kurus

चand

अपिalso

सर्वशःon all sides / entirely

ततःthen / thereafter

सर्वम्all (of it)

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

भ्रातृभिःby (his) brothers

परिवारितःsurrounded / encircled

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Jayadratha

Kurus

brothers (bhrātṛ)

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 how kinship and allegiance can rapidly crystallize into collective action: brothers and allies form a protective (or aggressive) ring around a central hero, illustrating the kṣatriya-world ethic where loyalty to one’s group often governs immediate conduct in conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Jayadratha together with the Kurus surrounds the mighty-armed figure, and the hero is further enclosed by his brothers—depicting a tactical encirclement and the consolidation of forces around a key person.