Shloka 41

ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam

Description of War Standards

Devanagari script

सर्वोपायैर्यतिष्यामि यथा बीभत्सुराहवे

Transliteration

sarvopāyair yatiṣyāmi yathā bībhatsur āhave

Translation

Sañjaya said: “I will strive by every possible means, so that Bībhatsu (Arjuna) may be dealt with in the battle as intended.”

Word by Word

• सर्वोपायैः: by all means/expedients
• सर्वोपायैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वोपाय
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• यतिष्यामि: I will strive/endeavor
• यतिष्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: यत् (यतते)
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• यथा: so that/as
• यथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• बीभत्सुः: Bībhatsu (Arjuna)
• बीभत्सुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बीभत्सु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bībhatsu (Arjuna)
• āhava (battlefield/war)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights determined effort and strategic resolve in war, while implicitly raising an ethical tension: even when one vows to use “all means,” the Mahābhārata repeatedly questions which means remain within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a speaker’s intention to employ every available tactic on the battlefield with reference to Arjuna (Bībhatsu), indicating an intensification of plans and counter-plans in the Drona Parva war episodes.