Shloka 12

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

द्रौपदेया महेष्वासा राक्षसश्नल घटोत्कच:

Transliteration

drau-padeyā maheṣv-āsā rākṣasaś ca ghaṭotkacaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: The sons of Draupadī—mighty archers—and the Rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca too were there, counted among the foremost fighters in that grim phase of the war.

Word by Word

• द्रौपदेयाः: the sons of Draupadī
• द्रौपदेयाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौपदेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महेष्वासाः: great archers (lit. those having great bows)
• महेष्वासाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेष्वास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राक्षसश्नलः: Rākṣasa-Śnala (a proper name/epithet)
• राक्षसश्नलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षसश्नल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• घटोत्कचः: Ghaṭotkaca
• घटोत्कचः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: घटोत्कच
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Draupadeyas (sons of Draupadī)
• Draupadī
• Ghaṭotkaca
• Rākṣasa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a war framed as dharma-yuddha, victory is pursued through every available strength—human and non-human—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring lesson that righteous aims do not remove the moral weight and complexity of the means employed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is listing or indicating key Pāṇḍava fighters: the Draupadeyas, famed as great archers, and Ghaṭotkaca, the fierce Rākṣasa warrior, emphasizing their active presence and importance in the battle situation.