Shloka 16
अलम्बुस-वधः
The Neutralization of Alambusa
दान्तान् वेदव्रतस्नातान् स्सनातानवभृथेषु च । सहस्रानुचरान् सौरान् सहस्र॑ चाष्ट चापरान्,वे सब-के-सब जितेन्द्रिय, वेदाध्ययनके व्रतमें निष्णात, यज्ञान्तस्नानसे पवित्र तथा सूर्यदेवके उपासक थे। वे संख्यामें एक हजार आठ थे और उनके साथ एक सहस्र अनुचर थे
sañjaya uvāca | dāntān vedavratāsnātān snātān avabhṛtheṣu ca | sahasrānucarān saurān sahasraṃ cāṣṭa cāparān |
Sañjaya said: “They were self-restrained—men who had completed the disciplines of Vedic study, and who had been purified by the concluding bath of sacrifice. Devotees of the Sun, they numbered one thousand and eight; and with them were a further thousand attendants.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid a war narrative, the verse foregrounds dharmic credentials—self-restraint (dānta), disciplined Vedic observance (veda-vrata), and ritual purity (avabhṛtha-snānā). It implies that outward strength is ideally grounded in inner discipline and sacred duty.
Sañjaya describes a body of men characterized as disciplined and ritually purified, devoted to the Sun, numbering 1008, accompanied by 1000 attendants—presented as a notable contingent within the events of Droṇa Parva.