Shloka 19

Rājagṛhe Magadheśvarasya yuddhāhvānam — Arjunena saṃyamaḥ

The Rājagṛha Challenge and Arjuna’s Restraint

Devanagari script

तस्मादपि स कौरव्य गन्धारविषयं हय: । विचचार यथाकामं कौन्तेयानुगतस्तदा,कुरुनन्दन! वहाँसे भी वह घोड़ा गान्धारदेशमें जाकर इच्छानुसार विचरने लगा। कुन्तीनन्दन अर्जुन भी उसके पीछे-पीछे वहीं जा पहुँचे

Transliteration

tasmād api sa kauravya gandhāraviṣayaṃ hayaḥ | vicacāra yathākāmaṃ kaunteyānugatas tadā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : De là encore, ô rejeton des Kuru, le cheval du sacrifice entra dans le pays de Gandhāra et erra où bon lui sembla. Alors Arjuna, fils de Kuntī, le suivit de près et parvint à cette même contrée.

Word by Word

तस्मात्from that (place/one)

अपिalso/even

सःhe/that (horse)

कौरव्यO Kauravya (descendant of Kuru)

गन्धार-विषयम्the region/territory of Gandhāra

हयःthe horse

विचचारwandered/roamed

यथा-कामम्as he pleased/at will

कौन्तेय-अनुगतःfollowed by the son of Kuntī (Arjuna)

तदाthen/at that time

कुरु-नन्दनO delight of the Kurus

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuru lineage (Kauravya/Kurunandana as addressee)

Gandhāra

Aśvamedha horse

Arjuna (Kaunteya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores royal dharma after the war: sovereignty is re-established not merely by force but through a sanctioned rite (Aśvamedha) in which the horse’s free roaming symbolizes lawful claim, while the king’s champion (Arjuna) upholds order by following and responding to challenges.

What is happening in the narrative?

During Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha, the consecrated horse moves onward into Gandhāra, wandering freely. Arjuna, assigned as its protector and enforcer of the rite’s authority, follows it into that region.