Shloka 5

पाण्डवपरिचयः—विराटसभायां प्रकाशनम्

Identification of the Pāṇḍavas in Virāṭa’s Court

Devanagari script

द्रोण: कृपश्चैव विविंशतिश्न दुःशासनश्वैव विवृत्य शीघ्रम्‌ सर्वे पुरस्ताद्‌ विततोरुचापा दुर्योधनार्थ त्वरिता<5भ्युपेयु:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | droṇaḥ kṛpaś caiva viviṁśatiś ca duḥśāsanaś caiva vivṛtya śīghram | sarve purastād vitatorucāpā duryodhanārthaṁ tvaritābhyupeyuḥ ||5||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Droṇa und Kṛpa, zusammen mit Viviṁśati und Duḥśāsana, wandten sich rasch um. Alle, die großen Bögen gespannt, eilten nach vorn an die Front, um Duryodhana zu schützen—voll Eifer und fest entschlossen, ihren Anführer in der Bedrängnis zu decken.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'droṇaḥ': 'Droṇa (the preceptor, master of arms)', 'kṛpaḥ (kṛpācāryaḥ)': 'Kṛpa (the royal teacher, famed archer)', 'viviṁśatiḥ': 'Viviṁśati (a Kaurava prince, brother of Duryodhana)', 'duḥśāsanaḥ': 'Duḥśāsana (Kaurava prince, brother of Duryodhana)', 'caiva': 'and indeed

• and also', 'vivṛtya': 'turning around

• wheeling about', 'śīghram': 'quickly', 'sarve': 'all (of them)', 'purastāt': 'in front

• to the fore', 'vitata-uru-cāpāḥ': 'with large bows stretched/drawn (lit. ‘broad/long bows extended’)', 'duryodhanārtham': 'for Duryodhana’s sake

• to protect Duryodhana', 'tvaritāḥ': 'hastened

• in great urgency', 'abhyupeyuḥ': 'they approached

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Droṇa
• Kṛpa (Kṛpācārya)
• Viviṁśati
• Duḥśāsana
• Duryodhana
• bows (cāpa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the power of allegiance and martial duty: skilled elders and princes act swiftly to protect their commander. Ethically, it also points to a recurring Mahābhārata tension—competence and loyalty can be deployed in service of a questionable cause, raising the question of whether duty to a person should yield to duty to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of the Virāṭa Parva conflict, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Viviṁśati, and Duḥśāsana quickly turn back and rush to the front with bows drawn, positioning themselves as a protective screen for Duryodhana.