Shloka 43

Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas

Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode

Devanagari script

ततः कृपमुपादाय विरथं ते नरर्षभा: । अपजहुर्महावेगा कुन्तीपुत्राद्‌ धनंजयात्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ kṛpam upādāya virathaṃ te nararṣabhāḥ | apajahur mahāvegā kuntīputrād dhanaṃjayāt ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Da nahmen jene männergleichen Stiere, in großer Geschwindigkeit, Kṛpa—nun ohne Wagen—und trugen ihn fort von Dhanaṃjaya, dem Sohn der Kuntī.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya

• कृपम्: Kripa
• कृपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उपादाय: having taken up, taking along
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आ-दा (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वान्त/ल्यप्), active sense

• विरथम्: without a chariot, chariotless
• विरथम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नरर्षभाः: bulls among men, best of men
• नरर्षभाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरर्षभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अपजहुः: carried off, removed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-हृ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, Plural

• महावेगाः: of great speed, very swift
• महावेगाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महावेग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कुन्तीपुत्रात्: from Kunti's son
• कुन्तीपुत्रात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्तीपुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• धनंजयात्: from Dhananjaya (Arjuna)
• धनंजयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनंजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Kṛpa
• Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna)
• Kuntī
• nararṣabhāḥ (the rescuing warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in warfare, dharma emphasizes restraint and solidarity: protecting a comrade who has become 'viratha' (chariotless and disadvantaged) reflects the ethic of preventing an unfair or dishonorable killing and upholding the duty of mutual protection among warriors.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Kṛpa is deprived of his chariot, swift warriors seize and remove him from the immediate reach of Arjuna (Dhanaṃjaya), effectively rescuing him from danger and withdrawing him from the confrontation.