Shloka 11

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय २७: सुशर्माह्वानम्, अर्जुनस्य प्रतिनिवर्तनम्, भगदत्तेन गजप्रहारः

Devanagari script

दशैव तु सहस्राणि त्रिगर्तनां महारथा: । चत्वारि च सहस््राणि वासुदेवस्य चानुगा:,उनमें दस हजार महारथी तो त्रिगर्तदेशके थे और चार हजार भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णके सेवक (नारायणी-सेनाके सैनिक) थे

Transliteration

daśaiva tu sahasrāṇi trigartānāṁ mahārathāḥ | catvāri ca sahasrāṇi vāsudevasya cānugāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Ten thousand of those foremost chariot-warriors were from the Trigarta country; and four thousand were followers of Vāsudeva—soldiers of the Nārāyaṇī host devoted to Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Word by Word

दशten

एवindeed/just

तुbut/and

सहस्राणिthousands

त्रिगर्तनाम्of the Trigartas

महारथाःgreat chariot-warriors

चत्वारिfour

चand

सहस्राणिthousands

वासुदेवस्यof Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

चand

अनुगाःfollowers/attendants

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Trigarta (country/people)

Vasudeva (Krishna)

Narayani Sena (implied by 'Vasudeva's followers')

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 how immense power in war is assembled through two binding forces—regional identity (Trigarta) and personal allegiance/devotion (followers of Vāsudeva). It invites reflection on how loyalty can be ethically complex: devotion and duty may be mobilized for conflict, making discernment (dharma-viveka) crucial.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is reporting troop composition and strength within the Drona Parva context: a contingent includes ten thousand elite chariot-warriors from Trigarta and four thousand soldiers aligned with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), commonly understood as the Nārāyaṇī forces.