Shloka 21

Devanagari script

यज्वनां दानशीलानां ब्राह्मणानां कृतात्मनाम्‌ चरितत्रह्वाचर्याणां पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिनाम्‌

Transliteration

yajvanāṁ dānaśīlānāṁ brāhmaṇānāṁ kṛtātmanām caritatrahvācaryāṇāṁ puṇyatīrthāvagāhinām

Translation

Sañjaya said: “(They were) Brahmins—performers of sacrifices, devoted to giving, self-disciplined—whose conduct was marked by austere observances, and who had bathed in holy pilgrimage-fords.”

Word by Word

• यज्वनाम्: of sacrificers
• यज्वनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• दानशीलानाम्: of those disposed to giving (charitable)
• दानशीलानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दानशील
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of Brahmins
• ब्राह्मणानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कृतात्मनाम्: of self-controlled / disciplined (lit. ‘made-souled’)
• कृतात्मनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• चरितब्रह्मचर्याणाम्: of those who have practiced brahmacarya (celibate discipline)
• चरितब्रह्मचर्याणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चरितब्रह्मचर्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिनाम्: of those who bathe/immerse in holy tīrthas
• पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Brāhmaṇas
• tīrthas (holy pilgrimage-fords)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises an ideal Brahmin profile: commitment to yajña (sacrificial duty), generosity (dāna), self-mastery (kṛtātman), disciplined conduct, and purification through tīrtha-bathing—virtues that define dharmic character and social-religious responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a group characterized by religious merit and disciplined life—Brahmins known for sacrifice, charity, and pilgrimage—setting a moral and cultural backdrop within the war narrative of Droṇa Parva.