Shloka 71

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

तौ समेतौ महात्मानौ वा्ष्णेयौ वरवाजिनौ

Transliteration

tau sametau mahātmānau vārṣṇeyau varavājinau

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those two great-souled Vārṣṇeya heroes, mounted on excellent steeds, came together—an image of noble prowess converging amid the moral gravity of the war.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• समेतौ: having come together, united
• समेतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समेत (सम् + इ + क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• महात्मानौ: the two great-souled (ones)
• महात्मानौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• वृष्णेयौ: the two Vrishni-descendants (Vrishnis)
• वृष्णेयौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृष्णेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• वरवाजिनौ: the two having excellent steeds / excellent horsemen
• वरवाजिनौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरवाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vārṣṇeyas (Vṛṣṇi-lineage heroes)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a violent setting, the epic frames warriors through ideals—mahātmya (nobility), lineage-duty, and disciplined martial readiness—inviting reflection on how power should be carried with restraint and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that two eminent Vārṣṇeya warriors, equipped with fine horses, have come face to face or converged at the battlefield, setting up the next action in the episode.