Shloka 216

ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam

Description of War Standards

Devanagari script

जयद्रथं वधिष्यामि श्वोभूत इति दारुक । “दारुक! अपने पुत्र अभिमन्युके मारे जानेसे शोकार्त होकर अर्जुनने यह प्रतिज्ञा कर ली है कि मैं कल जयद्रथका वध कर डालूँगा'

Transliteration

jayadrathaṁ vadhiṣyāmi śvobhūta iti dāruka |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O Dāruka, ‘Tomorrow, when day breaks, I shall slay Jayadratha.’” Thus Arjuna, overwhelmed by grief at the killing of his son Abhimanyu, makes a solemn vow—binding his warrior-honor to a single act of retributive justice amid the moral pressure of war.

Word by Word

• जयद्रथम्: Jayadratha (as object)
• जयद्रथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जयद्रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वधिष्यामि: I shall kill
• वधिष्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वध्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), First, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्वः: tomorrow
• श्वः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्वस्/श्वः
• Form: Temporal adverb

• भूतः: having become / being
• भूतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Past active participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति
• Form: Quotative particle

• दारुक: O Dāruka
• दारुक: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दारुक
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dāruka
• Jayadratha
• Arjuna
• Abhimanyu

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethic of binding oneself to a vow in the face of injustice and grief: personal sorrow is transformed into a public commitment to restore honor and accountability, even within the morally fraught arena of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Abhimanyu’s death, Arjuna declares—addressing Dāruka—that he will kill Jayadratha the next day. Sañjaya reports this resolve, setting up the next day’s battle where Jayadratha becomes the focal target.