Mahabharata 9.17.85 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 17, Shloka 85

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

ततो युधिष्िरो राजा त्वरमाणो महारथ:,तब महारथी राजा युधिष्ठिरने बड़ी उतावलीके साथ चार बाण मारकर कृतवमकि चारों घोड़ोंका संहार कर डाला तथा छ: तेज धारवाले भल्लोंसे कृपाचार्यको भी घायल कर दिया

Transliteration

tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā tvaramāṇo mahārathaḥ | tataḥ sa mahārathī rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ caturbhiḥ śaraiḥ kṛtavarmāṇaṃ caturṇāṃ aśvān saṃhṛtya ṣaḍbhiś ca tīkṣṇadhārabhir bhallaiḥ kṛpācāryam api vyathayām āsa ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Alors le roi Yudhiṣṭhira, grand guerrier de char, agissant avec une résolution pressante, abattit d’un trait les quatre chevaux de Kṛtavarmā, d’une flèche chacun. Et de six traits bhalla, tranchants comme des rasoirs, il blessa aussi le vénérable maître Kṛpa. Dans la mêlée, même le roi juste est poussé à une violence prompte et décisive ; pourtant le récit laisse paraître la tension morale lorsque les anciens et les maîtres deviennent des cibles par nécessité de guerre.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्वरमाणः: hastening, in great hurry
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वरमाण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• महारथः: great chariot-warrior
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Kṛtavarmā
• Kṛpācārya (Kṛpa)
• four horses (of Kṛtavarmā’s chariot)
• arrows (śara, bhalla)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a dharma-minded ruler may be compelled by kṣatriya-duty to act swiftly and violently in war; the episode highlights the moral strain of fighting when revered elders and teachers stand on the opposing side.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira, in haste, shoots four arrows to kill Kṛtavarmā’s four horses, disabling his chariot, and then strikes Kṛpācārya with six sharp bhalla arrows, wounding him in the ongoing battle.