Shloka 24

Virāṭa’s Mobilization to Recover the Cattle (गोधनरक्षणार्थ विराटस्य सैन्यसमायोजनम्)

Devanagari script

गवां शतसहस्राणि श्रीमन्ति गुणवन्ति च । वयमप्यनुगृह्नीमो द्विधा कृत्वा वरूथिनीम्‌,“फिर हमलोग अपनी सेनाको दो टुकड़ोंमें बॉँटकर उनकी लाखों सुन्दर तथा गुणवती गौओंका अपहरण करेंगे”

Transliteration

gavāṁ śata-sahasrāṇi śrīmantī guṇavantī ca | vayam apy anugṛhnīmo dvidhā kṛtvā varūthinīm ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Dort gibt es Hunderttausende Rinder – wohlgenährt und von bester Art. Auch wir werden dies nutzen: Teilen wir unser Heer in zwei Abteilungen, so werden wir jene prächtigen, gut gezüchteten Kühe forttreiben.“

Word by Word

गवाम्of cows

शतसहस्राणिhundreds of thousands

श्रीमन्तिsplendid, prosperous

गुणवन्तिexcellent, possessing good qualities

चand

वयम्we

अपिalso, even

अनुगृह्णीमःwe will favor / we will oblige (i.e., we shall do as proposed)

द्विधाin two ways; into two parts

कृत्वाhaving made

वरूथिनीम्the army, troop, host

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

cows/cattle (go, gāvaḥ)

varūthinī (army/host)

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 desire for wealth can drive organized wrongdoing: the plan to split the army and seize cattle shows calculated aggression, implicitly contrasting opportunistic gain with dharmic restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Virāṭa Parva, a force is being urged to exploit the presence of vast, valuable cattle by dividing the army into two units and carrying the herd away—setting up the ensuing confrontation around the cattle of King Virāṭa.