Shloka 14

Rājagṛhe Magadheśvarasya yuddhāhvānam — Arjunena saṃyamaḥ

The Rājagṛha Challenge and Arjuna’s Restraint

Devanagari script

तमुन्मथ्य हयश्रेष्ठ यादवानां कुमारका:

Transliteration

tam unmathya hayaśreṣṭha yādavānāṃ kumārakāḥ

Translation

Having roused and driven on that excellent horse, the young princes of the Yādavas set it in motion.

Word by Word

तम्him / that one

उन्मथ्यhaving churned up / having agitated / having uprooted

हयश्रेष्ठthe best of horses

यादवानाम्of the Yadavas

कुमारकाःthe boys / young lads

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Hayaśreṣṭha (the excellent horse, i.e., the Aśvamedha horse)

Yādavāḥ (the Yādavas)

Kumārakāḥ (young princes/sons of the Yādavas)

Vaiśampāyana (speaker)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined participation in a royal rite: youthful power is to be directed toward sanctioned duty and collective responsibility, not mere display. It implicitly frames energy and courage as meaningful when aligned with dharma and the larger social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Yādava youths/princes rouse and drive forward the excellent horse associated with the Aśvamedha. This indicates the horse’s active movement and the involvement of the Yādavas in the unfolding ritual and its attendant political-religious process.