Shloka 44

Kṛṣṇa-vīrya-kathana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s appraisal of Vāsudeva’s deeds

Devanagari script

यो<वधीत्‌ केतुमान्‌ वीरो राजपुत्रं दुरासदम्‌ | अपरान्तगिरिद्वारे द्रोणात्‌ कस्तं न्‍्यवारयत्‌,जिस वीरने अपरान्त पर्वतके द्वारदेशमें स्थित दुर्जय राजकुमारका वध किया, उस केतुमान्‌को द्रोणाचार्यके पास आनेसे किसने रोका?

Transliteration

yo ’vadhīt ketumān vīro rājaputraṁ durāsadam | aparāntagiridvāre droṇāt kas taṁ nyavārayat ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Which hero slew Ketumān—the hard-to-overcome prince—at the gateway of the Aparānta mountains, and who then prevented him from reaching Droṇācārya?”

Word by Word

यःwho

अवधीत्killed

केतुमान्Ketumān (name)

वीरःhero, warrior

राजपुत्रम्king's son, prince

दुरासदम्hard to assail, formidable

अपरान्तगिरिद्वारेat the gate/passage of the Aparānta mountain

द्रोणात्from Drona (i.e., from Dronācārya / from near Drona)

कःwho?

तम्him

न्यवारयत्prevented, held back

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ketumān

Droṇācārya (Droṇa)

Aparānta mountains (Aparāntagiri)

mountain gateway/pass (giridvāra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights two complementary martial virtues: decisive action in battle (slaying a formidable foe) and tactical restraint (being checked from advancing to a key commander). In the ethical frame of kṣatriya-dharma, prowess is inseparable from strategic limits imposed by opponents and circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana poses a pointed query about a specific battlefield episode: a hero kills the prince Ketumān at a strategic mountain pass (Aparānta-giridvāra) and is then prevented from approaching Droṇācārya. The question sets up identification of the warrior and the one who intercepted him.