Shloka 1

Devanagari script

अपर बक। ] अत काड< चतुरशीतितमो< ध्याय: शकुनिपुत्रकी पराजय वैशम्पायन उवाच शकुनेस्तनयो वीरो गान्धाराणां महारथ: । प्रत्युद्ययौ गुडाकेशं सैन्येन महता वृतः,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! शकुनिका पुत्र गान्धारोंमें सबसे बड़ा वीर और महारथी था। वह विशाल सेनासे घिरकर निद्राविजयी अर्जुनका सामना करनेके लिये चला

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

śakunes tanayo vīro gāndhārāṇāṁ mahārathaḥ |

pratyudyayau guḍākeśaṁ sainyena mahatā vṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: The heroic son of Śakuni, a great chariot-warrior among the Gāndhāras, advanced to confront Arjuna (Guḍākeśa), surrounded by a vast army. The narrative frames the momentum of battle—valor and martial duty driving a challenger forward—while implicitly contrasting outward military strength with the inner mastery suggested by Arjuna’s epithet, “conqueror of sleep.”

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'śakuneḥ tanayaḥ': 'son of Śakuni', 'vīraḥ': 'heroic, brave warrior', 'gāndhārāṇām': 'of the Gāndhāras (people of Gandhāra)', 'mahārathaḥ': 'great chariot-warrior

• an elite fighter', 'pratyudyayau': 'went forth to meet

• advanced to confront', 'guḍākeśam': 'Guḍākeśa (Arjuna)

• ‘conqueror of sleep/drowsiness’', 'sainyena': 'with an army', 'mahatā': 'great, vast', 'vṛtaḥ': 'surrounded, encompassed, attended by'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Śakuni
• Śakuni’s son
• Gāndhāras
• Arjuna
• Guḍākeśa
• army (sainya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the outward face of kṣatriya-dharma—meeting an opponent directly with courage and force—while also invoking Arjuna’s epithet “Guḍākeśa,” suggesting that true martial excellence includes inner discipline and wakeful mastery, not merely numerical strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Śakuni’s son, a leading warrior of the Gāndhāras, marches out with a large army to engage Arjuna in battle, setting up the next episode of confrontation and defeat.