Shloka 26

Rāmopākhyāna—Rāma–Sītā Origins and the Opening of Rāvaṇa’s Genealogy

Devanagari script

भ्रातृभि: सहितो वीरैर्भीष्मद्रोणकृपैस्तथा | सड़म्य सूतपुत्रेण कर्णेनाहवशोभिना

Transliteration

bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito vīrair bhīṣma-droṇa-kṛpais tathā | saṅgrāmye sūtaputreṇa karṇenāhava-śobhinā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Begleitet von seinen Brüdern und den heldenhaften Kriegern—Bhīṣma, Droṇa und Kṛpa ebenso—sowie von Karṇa, dem Sohn des Wagenlenkers, der im Kampf erstrahlte, schritt er in das kriegerische Unternehmen voran.

Word by Word

भ्रातृभिःby/with (his) brothers

सहितःaccompanied, together with

वीरैःby/with heroes

भीष्म-द्रोण-कृपैःby/with Bhishma, Drona, and Kripa

तथाand also; likewise

सङ्गम्यhaving met/joined

सूत-पुत्रेणwith the charioteer’s son

कर्णेनwith Karna

आहव-शोभिनाsplendid in battle

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

brothers (bhrātṛ)

Bhīṣma

Droṇa

Kṛpa (Kṛpācārya)

Karṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the assembling of renowned warriors and kinship-based support as a source of formidable power, while implicitly raising the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical question: martial excellence and loyalty can serve either dharma or adharma depending on the cause they are enlisted for.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a leader moving forward in a warlike context, accompanied by his brothers and eminent fighters—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa—and also Karṇa, famed for his battlefield brilliance.