Shloka 25

रथचिह्नवर्णनम् / Description of Chariot Standards and Allied Advances

Devanagari script

ते द्रोणमभिवर्तन्ते सर्वतः कुरुपुड्भवा: | वृकोदरं परीप्सन्त: सूर्यमभ्रगणा इव,वे कुरुश्रेष्ठ पाण्डव भीमसेनकी रक्षाके लिये द्रोणाचार्यको सब ओरसे उसी प्रकार घेर रहे हैं, जैसे बादल सूर्यको ढक लेते हैं

Transliteration

te droṇam abhivartante sarvataḥ kurupuṅgavāḥ | vṛkodaraṃ parīpsantaḥ sūryam abhragaṇā iva ||

Translation

Karna said: “The foremost of the Kurus press in upon Droṇa from every side, intent on securing (protecting) Vṛkodara (Bhīma). They surround him just as masses of clouds cover the sun.”

Word by Word

तेthey

द्रोणम्Drona

अभिवर्तन्तेadvance upon / surround / press towards

सर्वतःfrom all sides

कुरुपुङ्गवाःbulls among the Kurus (foremost Kurus)

वृकोदरम्Vrikodara (Bhima)

परीप्सन्तःdesiring to obtain / seeking

सूर्यम्the sun

अभ्रगणाःmasses/groups of clouds

इवlike, as

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Kuru warriors (kurupuṅgavāḥ)

Vṛkodara (Bhīmasena)

Sun (sūrya)

Clouds (abhra)

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 battlefield dharma as loyalty and protection of one’s crucial ally: the warriors coordinate to shield Bhīma, showing that collective responsibility and strategic unity become ethical imperatives in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna describes how leading Kuru fighters converge on Droṇa from all directions, with the aim of securing/protecting Bhīma (Vṛkodara). The simile compares their encirclement to clouds obscuring the sun.