Shloka 8

Āśramāgamanam — The Pāṇḍavas Arrive at Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Hermitage

Devanagari script

व्यासजीके द्वारा कौरव-पाण्डव-पक्षके मरे हुए सम्बन्धियोंका सेनासहित परलोकसे आवाहन विराटद्रुपदौ चैव सहपुत्रौी ससैनिकौ । द्रौपदेयाश्व॒ सौभद्रो राक्षसश्ष॒ घटोत्कच:

Transliteration

virāṭa-drupadau caiva saha-putrau sa-sainikau | draupadeyāś ca saubhadro rākṣasaś ca ghaṭotkacaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Virāṭa and Drupada, together with their sons and their troops, emerged. Likewise the five sons of Draupadī, Abhimanyu (son of Subhadrā), and the rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca—all of them manifested from the waters, having been summoned back from the other world by Vyāsa.

Word by Word

• {'virāṭaḥ': 'Virāṭa, king of Matsya

• ally and host of the Pāṇḍavas', 'drupadaḥ': 'Drupada, king of Pāñcāla

• father of Draupadī and Dṛṣṭadyumna', 'caiva': 'and indeed

• also', 'saha-putrau': 'together with (their) sons', 'sa-sainikau': 'together with (their) armies/troops', 'draupadeyāḥ': 'the sons of Draupadī (the five Upapāṇḍavas)', 'saubhadraḥ': 'Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadrā', 'rākṣasaḥ': 'a rākṣasa (a powerful non-human being, often fierce in battle)', 'ghaṭotkacaḥ': 'Ghaṭotkaca, Bhīma’s son by Hiḍimbā

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Vyāsa
• Virāṭa
• Drupada
• sons of Virāṭa
• sons of Drupada
• Draupadeyas (five sons of Draupadī)
• Abhimanyu (Saubhadra)
• Ghaṭotkaca
• waters (river/stream as the medium of manifestation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that dharma ultimately aims at truth and inner resolution: even the dead are revealed again so the living may see beyond hatred and loss, recognize the larger moral order, and loosen the grip of grief born from war.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Ashramavāsika episode where Vyāsa calls forth those slain in the Kurukṣetra war, Virāṭa and Drupada appear with their sons and armies; then Draupadī’s five sons, Abhimanyu, and Ghaṭotkaca also manifest from the waters.