Shloka 28

Droṇa’s Conditional Boon: The Plan to Capture Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रोणेन युधिष्ठिरग्रहणोपायः)

Devanagari script

उल्मुको निशठश्वैव झिल्ली बश्रुश्न वीर्यवान्‌ पृथुश्न विपृथुश्नमेव शमीको5थारिमेजय:

Transliteration

ulmuko niṣaṭhaś caiva jhillī baśruśna vīryavān | pṛthuśna vipṛthuśnaṃ caiva śamīko ’thārimejayaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ulmuka, Niṣaṭha et aussi Jhillī ; Baśruśna le vaillant ; Pṛthuśna et Vipṛthuśna ; puis Śamīka et Arimejaya — ainsi sont-ils énumérés l’un après l’autre, dans l’ordre.

Word by Word

उल्मुकःUlmuka (proper name)

निशठःNishaṭha (proper name)

श्वःŚva (proper name; lit. 'dog')

एवindeed/also

झिल्लीJhिल्लī (proper name)

बश्रुश्नःBaśruśna (proper name)

वीर्यवान्mighty/valorous

पृथुश्नःPṛthuśna (proper name)

विपृथुश्नःVipṛthuśna (proper name)

एवalso/indeed

शमीकःŚamīka (proper name)

अथthen/and

अरिमेजयःArimejaya (proper name; lit. 'conqueror of enemies')

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ulmuka

Niṣaṭha

Jhillī

Baśruśna

Pṛthuśna

Vipṛthuśna

Śamīka

Arimejaya

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 primarily serves a documentary function: it preserves names within a lineage/tradition. Ethically, such cataloguing reflects the Mahābhārata’s insistence that the war’s events are rooted in inherited histories and responsibilities (kula-smṛti), not isolated acts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is listing a sequence of individuals by name, including one described as ‘mighty’ (vīryavān). This is part of a broader narrative register—often genealogical or contextual—embedded within the Drona Parva’s war account.