Shloka 25

अध्याय १४६ — निशायां सात्यकिदुर्योधनयुद्धम् / Chapter 146 — Night Battle: Sātyaki and Duryodhana; Śakuni’s Encirclement of Arjuna

Devanagari script

जेतारो वृष्णिवीराणां कि पुनर्मानवा रणे | ये अपने कुट॒म्बीजनोंकी अवहेलना नहीं करते हैं। सदा बड़े-बूढ़ोंकी आज्ञामें तत्पर रहते हैं। देवता, असुर, गन्धर्व, यक्ष, नाग और राक्षस भी युद्धमें वृष्णिवीरोंपर विजय नहीं पा सकते; फिर मनुष्य किस गिनतीमें हैं? ।। ब्र्माद्रव्ये गुरुद्रव्ये ज्ञातिस्वे चाप्पहिंसका:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | jetāro vṛṣṇivīrāṇāṃ ki punarmānavā raṇe | ye ’pane kuṭumbījanānām avahēlanāṃ na kurvanti | sadā baḍe-būḍhānām ājñāyāṃ tatparā bhavanti | devatā asurā gandharvā yakṣā nāgā rākṣasāś ca yuddhe vṛṣṇivīrān na jetuṃ śaknuvanti; punaḥ manuṣyāḥ kasya gaṇanāyām? || brahmadravye gurudravye jñātisve cāpy ahiṃsakāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “The heroes of the Vṛṣṇis are conquerors—what then of ordinary men in battle? They do not slight their own kinsmen, and they are ever intent on obeying the commands of elders. Even gods, asuras, gandharvas, yakṣas, nāgas, and rākṣasas cannot overcome the Vṛṣṇi warriors in war; how much less can human beings be counted as their match? Moreover, they do not injure what belongs to Brahmins, to teachers, or to their relatives.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'sañjaya uvāca', 'definition': 'Sañjaya said (narrator reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}, {'term': 'jetāraḥ', 'definition': 'conquerors, victors'}, {'term': 'vṛṣṇi-vīrāṇām', 'definition': 'of the Vṛṣṇi heroes/warriors (Yādava clan

• Kṛṣṇa’s people)'}, {'term': 'mānavāḥ', 'definition': 'human beings, men'}, {'term': 'raṇe', 'definition': 'in battle'}, {'term': 'kuṭumbī-janāḥ', 'definition': 'members of one’s household/kin'}, {'term': 'avahēlanā', 'definition': 'disrespect, slighting, contempt'}, {'term': 'bṛddha (baḍe-būḍhe)', 'definition': 'elders, seniors'}, {'term': 'ājñā', 'definition': 'command, instruction'}, {'term': 'tatpara', 'definition': 'devoted/intent upon, diligently engaged'}, {'term': 'devatāḥ', 'definition': 'gods, divine beings'}, {'term': 'asurāḥ', 'definition': 'asuras, anti-gods/demons'}, {'term': 'gandharvāḥ', 'definition': 'celestial musicians'}, {'term': 'yakṣāḥ', 'definition': 'nature-spirits/guardians of treasures'}, {'term': 'nāgāḥ', 'definition': 'serpent beings'}, {'term': 'rākṣasāḥ', 'definition': 'rākṣasas, man-eating demons/ogres'}, {'term': 'brahma-dravya', 'definition': 'property belonging to Brahmins/sacred trust'}, {'term': 'guru-dravya', 'definition': 'property belonging to one’s teacher/preceptor'}, {'term': 'jñāti-sva', 'definition': 'property of relatives/kinsmen'}, {'term': 'ahiṃsakāḥ', 'definition': 'non-injurers

• those who do not harm (here: do not violate others’ rightful property)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vṛṣṇi warriors (Vṛṣṇivīrāḥ)
• Humans (mānavāḥ)
• Devas (devatāḥ)
• Asuras
• Gandharvas
• Yakṣas
• Nāgas
• Rākṣasas
• Brahmins (implied by brahma-dravya)
• Gurus/teachers (implied by guru-dravya)
• Kinsmen/relatives (jñātayaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Martial excellence is presented as inseparable from ethical discipline: honoring kin, obeying elders, and refraining from violating what belongs to Brahmins, teachers, and relatives. The verse links victory in war with restraint and dharmic conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, extols the Vṛṣṇi warriors as unconquerable—so formidable that even supernatural beings cannot defeat them—thereby implying that ordinary human opponents stand little chance.