Shloka 58

Devanagari script

वासुदेवश्व वार्ष्णेयो धर्मपुत्रश्च पाण्डव: । उस समय मैं, कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुन, शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्य, वृष्णिवंशी भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्ण तथा धर्मपुत्र पाण्डुनन्दन युधिष्ठिर--इन पाँच मनुष्योंने ही योगयुक्त महात्मा द्रोणको परम धामकी ओर जाते देखा था ।। अन्‍्ये तु सर्वे नापश्यन्‌ भारद्वाजस्य धीमत:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

vāsudevaś ca vārṣṇeyo dharmaputraś ca pāṇḍavaḥ |

ahaṃ ca kuntīputro 'rjunaḥ śāradvānātmajaḥ kṛpaḥ |

yogayuktaṃ mahātmānaṃ droṇaṃ parama-dhāma-gam |

paśyāmaḥ pañca mānuṣāḥ | anye tu sarve nāpaśyan bhāradvājasya dhīmataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa of the Vṛṣṇi line, the Pāṇḍava Yudhiṣṭhira—son of Dharma—together with me, Arjuna the son of Kuntī, and Kṛpa the son of Śaradvat: we five alone saw the great-souled Droṇa, established in yoga, departing toward the supreme abode. All the others did not behold that wise son of Bharadvāja.”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vāsudeva

• Kṛṣṇa', 'vārṣṇeyaḥ': 'descendant of Vṛṣṇi

• of the Vṛṣṇi clan', 'dharmaputraḥ': 'son of Dharma

• epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira', 'pāṇḍavaḥ': 'a son/descendant of Pāṇḍu', 'ahaṃ': 'I', 'kuntīputraḥ arjunaḥ': 'Arjuna, son of Kuntī', 'śāradvānātmajaḥ kṛpaḥ': 'Kṛpa, son of Śaradvat', 'yogayuktam': 'joined to yoga

• inwardly collected, spiritually disciplined', 'mahātmānam': 'great-souled, noble one', 'droṇam': 'Droṇa (Droṇācārya)', 'parama-dhāma': 'supreme abode

• highest state/realm', 'gam': 'going

• departing', 'paśyāmaḥ': 'we saw', 'pañca': 'five', 'mānuṣāḥ': 'men

• human beings', 'anye tu sarve': 'but all the others', 'nāpaśyan': 'did not see', 'bhāradvājasya': 'of the son/descendant of Bharadvāja (Droṇa)', 'dhīmataḥ': 'of the wise one'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Vārṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa as Vṛṣṇi-descendant)
• Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmaputra)
• Arjuna (Kuntīputra)
• Kṛpācārya (Śāradvānātmaja Kṛpa)
• Droṇa (Bhāradvāja)
• Parama-dhāma (supreme abode)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts outer visibility with inner spiritual perception: only a few—those closely aligned with dharma and disciplined awareness—are said to witness Droṇa’s yogic departure to the supreme abode, suggesting that the moral-spiritual state of a person at death may be apprehended only by those with refined insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Droṇa’s fall, Sañjaya reports that only five—Kṛṣṇa, Yudhiṣṭhira, Arjuna, Kṛpa, and Sañjaya—saw Droṇa, described as yoga-established, proceeding to the highest state; the rest of the warriors did not perceive this departure.