Shloka 17

Devanagari script

गोवासदासमीयानां वसातीनां च भारत । प्राच्यानां वाटधानानां भोजानां चाभिमानिनाम्‌,“भारत! गोवास, दासमीय, वसाति, प्राच्य, वाट्धान और भोजदेशनिवासी अभिमानी वीरोंकी तथा सम्पूर्ण क्षत्रियोंकी सेना, जिसमें उद्ण्ड घोड़ों और उन्मत्त हाथियोंकी संख्या अधिक थी, तुम्हारे और भीमसेनके पास पहुँचकर नष्ट हो गयी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | govāsadāsamīyānāṃ vasātīnāṃ ca bhārata | prācyānāṃ vāṭadhānānāṃ bhojānāṃ cābhimāninām ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ô Bhārata ! Les guerriers orgueilleux des peuples Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna et Bhoja—bref, toute l’armée des kṣatriya—s’avancèrent contre toi et contre Bhīmasena, mais ils furent détruits.

Word by Word

गोवासदासमीयानाम्of the Govāsa and Dāsamīya (people)

वसातीनाम्of the Vasāti (people)

चand

भारतO Bhārata

प्राच्यानाम्of the Prācyas (easterners)

वाटधानानाम्of the Vāṭadhānas (people)

भोजानाम्of the Bhojas

चand

अभिमानिनाम्of the proud (ones)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Bhīmasena

Govāsa (people)

Dāsamīya (people)

Vasāti (people)

Prācya (eastern people)

Vāṭadhāna (people)

Bhoja (people/region)

Kṣatriyas

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 highlights the ethical warning that abhimāna (pride) and reliance on sheer military might do not guarantee victory; in the Mahābhārata’s moral frame, outcomes in war are shaped by valor, discipline, and the deeper currents of dharma and adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that contingents from several peoples—Govāsa, Dāsamīya, Vasāti, Prācya, Vāṭadhāna, and Bhoja—advanced toward Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s side and encountered Bhīmasena (and the Kuru forces addressed as ‘you’), but were annihilated in the fighting.