Shloka 21

Jayadratha-rakṣā: Conch Signals and Encirclement of Arjuna

Chapter 79

Devanagari script

यज्वनां दानशीलानां ब्राह्मणानां कृतात्मनाम्‌ चरितत्रह्वाचर्याणां पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिनाम्‌

Transliteration

yajvanāṁ dānaśīlānāṁ brāhmaṇānāṁ kṛtātmanām caritatrahvācaryāṇāṁ puṇyatīrthāvagāhinām

Translation

Sañjaya said: “(They were) Brahmins—performers of sacrifices, devoted to giving, self-disciplined—whose conduct was marked by austere observances, and who had bathed in holy pilgrimage-fords.”

Word by Word

यज्वनाम्of sacrificers

दानशीलानाम्of those disposed to giving (charitable)

ब्राह्मणानाम्of Brahmins

कृतात्मनाम्of self-controlled / disciplined (lit. ‘made-souled’)

चरितब्रह्मचर्याणाम्of those who have practiced brahmacarya (celibate discipline)

पुण्यतीर्थावगाहिनाम्of those who bathe/immerse in holy tīrthas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Brāhmaṇas

tīrthas (holy pilgrimage-fords)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises an ideal Brahmin profile: commitment to yajña (sacrificial duty), generosity (dāna), self-mastery (kṛtātman), disciplined conduct, and purification through tīrtha-bathing—virtues that define dharmic character and social-religious responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a group characterized by religious merit and disciplined life—Brahmins known for sacrifice, charity, and pilgrimage—setting a moral and cultural backdrop within the war narrative of Droṇa Parva.