Mahabharata 7.24.16 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 24, Shloka 16

द्रोणाभिमुखानां निवारण-युद्धम् / Interceptions on the Droṇa-front

Devanagari script

कथं स्यादवशेषो हि धुर्ययोरभ्यतीतयो: । यौ नित्यमुपजीवाम: क्षमिणौ पुरुषर्षभौ

Transliteration

kathaṁ syād avaśeṣo hi dhuryayor abhyatītayoḥ | yau nityam upajīvāmaḥ kṣamiṇau puruṣarṣabhau ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dijo: «¿Cómo podría quedar algún superviviente, si esos dos campeones supremos han partido? Siempre nos sostuvimos tomando refugio en aquellos héroes pacientes, toros entre los hombres. Si tales pilares han abandonado este mundo, ¿cómo podría seguir con vida un solo soldado de nuestro ejército?»

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• स्यात्: could be / would be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (as)
• Form: Vidhi-lin (optative), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• अवशेषः: a remainder; survivor
• अवशेषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अवशेष
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• हि: indeed; for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• धुर्ययोः: of the two foremost/leading ones
• Type: Noun
• Root: धुर्य
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• अभ्यतीतयोः: of the two who have passed away/departed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभ्यतीत (अभि + अतीत)
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• यौ: who (the two)
• यौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, dual

• नित्यम्: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• उपजीवामः: we live by; we subsist on
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + जीव् (jīv)
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 1, plural, Parasmaipada

• क्षमिणौ: patient; forbearing
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षमिन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, dual

• पुरुषर्षभौ: bulls among men; best of men (two)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषर्षभ
• Form: masculine, nominative, dual

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kaurava army (senā)
• two leading champions (dhuryau)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of power structures built on a few exceptional individuals: when the principal protectors fall, collective confidence collapses. It also underscores impermanence in war and the ethical weight of relying on might rather than stable dharma-based order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the departure (death) of two key champions on whom the Kauravas depended, expresses disbelief that any of his soldiers could survive. His words convey shock, grief, and the sense that the army’s very life depended on those leaders.