Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 163

यज्ञवाटवैभववर्णनम् / Description of the Splendour of the Sacrificial Enclosure

Devanagari script

आगच्छति नरव्याप्रे कौरवाणां धुरंधरे । तदनन्तर दूसरे दिन कौरव-धुरंधर नरव्यात्र अर्जुके आते समय नगरमें महान्‌ कोलाहल बढ़ गया

Transliteration

āgacchati naravyāghre kauravāṇāṃ dhuraṃdhare |

Translation

युधिष्ठिर बोले— “हे नरव्याघ्र! कौरवों का धुरंधर आ रहा है।” उसके आने के समय दूसरे दिन नगर में बड़ा कोलाहल मच गया।

Word by Word

• आगच्छति: comes, approaches
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√गम् (गच्छ्)
• Form: Lat (present), 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada

• नरव्याप्रे: O tiger among men (O best of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरव्याघ्र
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• कौरवाणाम्: of the Kauravas
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरव
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• धुरंधरे: in/among the foremost bearers of the burden; in the champion
• धुरंधरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धुरंधर
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

Speaker

युधिष्ठिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Kauravas
• a leading Kaurava champion (dhuraṃdhara)
• city (nagara, implied by the prose gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how leadership and renowned warriors influence society: the approach of a principal supporter of a royal faction creates immediate public agitation, reminding rulers to weigh the ethical and political consequences of power, reputation, and military presence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira announces that a foremost Kaurava-aligned champion is arriving; as he comes, the city becomes noisy and stirred up, indicating heightened attention, tension, or excitement among the people.