Shloka 166

Devanagari script

गाण्डीवोत्थं दहेताजौ पुत्राणां मम वाहिनीम्‌ । क्या गाण्डीव धनुषसे प्रकट हुआ बाणमय तेज सब ओर प्रज्वलित-सा होकर मेरे पुत्रोंकी (विशाल) वाहिनीको युद्धमें जलाकर भस्म कर डालेगा?

Transliteration

gāṇḍīvotthaṁ dahetājau putrāṇāṁ mama vāhinīm |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Will the blazing, arrow-born radiance unleashed from the Gāṇḍīva in battle burn and reduce to ashes the vast army of my sons?”

Word by Word

• गाण्डीवोत्थम्: arisen from (the bow) Gāṇḍīva
• गाण्डीवोत्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गाण्डीव-उत्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• दहेत्: may burn
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• आजौ: in battle
• आजौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पुत्राणाम्: of (my) sons
• पुत्राणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: 1st, Genitive, Singular

• वाहिनीम्: army, host
• वाहिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Gāṇḍīva
• Arjuna (implied by Gāṇḍīva)
• Kaurava army (my sons’ host)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment (to one’s own sons and power) breeds fear when facing the consequences of unrighteous choices; Dhṛtarāṣṭra senses that dharma-backed force can become overwhelming and destructive.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war tension, Dhṛtarāṣṭra voices apprehension about Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva—imagining its fiery, arrow-born might incinerating the Kaurava host in the coming battle.