Shloka 5

Devanagari script

ततो5भिजग्मु: पञ्चालान्‌ निध्नन्तस्ते नरर्षभा: । ममृदुस्तस्य नगर द्रुपदस्य महौजस:

Transliteration

tato 'bhijagmuḥ pañcālān nidhnaṃtas te nararṣabhāḥ | mamṛdus tasya nagaraṃ drupadasya mahaujasaḥ ||

Translation

Then those bull-like men advanced upon the Pañcālas, striking them down. They crushed the city of the mighty Drupada.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• अभिजग्मुः: went towards, set out for
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-गम्
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, plural, Parasmaipada

• पञ्चालान्: the Panchalas
• पञ्चालान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चाल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• निध्नन्तः: slaying, striking down
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• ममृदुः: crushed, destroyed
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृद्
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person, plural, Parasmaipada

• तस्य: of him/that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• नगरम्: city
• नगरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्रुपदस्य: of Drupada
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुपद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• महौजसः: of the mighty/very powerful (one)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महौजस्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pañcāla
• Drupada
• Drupada's city (nagara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the pursuit of victory and retaliation in royal conflicts can lead to disproportionate harm—warriors’ rivalry results in the devastation of an entire city, raising an ethical warning about the wider consequences of kṣatriya ambition and enmity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that a group of heroic men marched against the Pañcālas, killing as they went, and devastated the city belonging to the powerful king Drupada.