Shloka 17
गोवासदासमीयानां वसातीनां च भारत । प्राच्यानां वाटधानानां भोजानां चाभिमानिनाम्,“भारत! गोवास, दासमीय, वसाति, प्राच्य, वाट्धान और भोजदेशनिवासी अभिमानी वीरोंकी तथा सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रियोंकी सेना, जिसमें उद्ण्ड घोड़ों और उन्मत्त हाथियोंकी संख्या अधिक थी, तुम्हारे और भीमसेनके पास पहुँचकर नष्ट हो गयी
sañjaya uvāca | govāsadāsamīyānāṃ vasātīnāṃ ca bhārata | prācyānāṃ vāṭadhānānāṃ bhojānāṃ cābhimāninām ||
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, the proud warriors of the Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna, and Bhoja peoples—indeed, the host of kṣatriyas—advanced toward you and Bhīmasena, but were destroyed.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical warning that abhimāna (pride) and reliance on sheer military might do not guarantee victory; in the Mahābhārata’s moral frame, outcomes in war are shaped by valor, discipline, and the deeper currents of dharma and adharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that contingents from several peoples—Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna, and Bhoja—advanced toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s side and encountered Bhīmasena (and the Kuru forces addressed as ‘you’), but were annihilated in the fighting.