Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अत्र चक्रधनुर्नाम सूर्याज्जातो महानृषि:

Transliteration

atra cakradhanuḥ nāma sūryāj jāto mahān ṛṣiḥ

Translation

Here, too, there was a great sage named Cakradhanu, born of the Sun. The narration invokes a solar-born seer to ground the ensuing account in sacred lineage and moral authority, suggesting that the counsel or precedent being cited is not merely worldly strategy but sanctioned by venerable tradition.

Word by Word

अत्रhere

चand

चक्रधनुःChakradhanu (name of a sage; lit. 'wheel-bow')

नामby name / named

सूर्यात्from the Sun

जातःborn

महान्great

ऋषिःsage

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Cakradhanu

Sūrya

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 establishes moral and narrative authority by citing an eminent, solar-born ṛṣi. In the Mahābhārata, invoking such lineage signals that the guidance or example to follow is rooted in dharmic tradition rather than mere expediency.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yuparṇa introduces a figure: a great sage named Cakradhanu, said to be born from Sūrya. This functions as a transition into a related account or precedent connected with that sage.