Mahabharata 9.14.22 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 22

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

तावुभौ पुरुषव्याप्रौ तावुभौ धन्विनां वरौ

Transliteration

tāv ubhau puruṣavyāghrau tāv ubhau dhanvināṃ varau

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Jene beiden waren Tiger unter den Menschen—beide die Ersten unter den Bogenschützen—hervorragend an Kraft und kriegerischer Kunst.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• उभौ: both
• उभौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• पुरुषव्याघ्रौ: tigers among men (great heroes)
• पुरुषव्याघ्रौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषव्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• उभौ: both
• उभौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• धन्विनाम्: of bowmen/archers
• धन्विनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धन्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वरौ: the best/excellent (two)
• वरौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical lens on warfare: even amid destruction, true excellence is measured by disciplined valor and recognized merit—praising prowess without necessarily endorsing the war itself.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two principal warriors as exceptional—‘tigers among men’ and the best of archers—setting the tone for their impending or ongoing confrontation and emphasizing their stature on the battlefield.