Mahabharata 11.21.4 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 4

अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्

Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa

Devanagari script

यं सम पाण्डवसंत्रासान्मम पुत्रा महारथा: । प्रायुध्यन्त पुरस्कृत्य मातज्रा इव यूथपम्‌

Transliteration

yaṁ sama-pāṇḍava-saṁtrāsān mama putrā mahārathāḥ | prāyudhyanta puraskṛtya mātangā iva yūthapam ||

Translation

ヴァイシャṃパーヤナは語った。「わが子ら—大車戦の勇士（マハーラタ）—が常に先頭に立て、自らはその後ろで戦ったあの英雄。群れの長を囲む象のごとく彼を擁し、彼の存在ゆえにパーンダヴァは恐れに打たれた。その英雄を、両手の妙なるサヴィヤサーチー・アルジュナが戦場で討ったのだ—獅子が獅子を倒すように、あるいは発情期の猛象が rival の象王を打ち倒すように。」

Word by Word

• यम्: whom
• यम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पाण्डव-संत्रासात्: from fear of the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डव-संत्रासात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव-संत्रास
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• मम: of me / my
• मम: —
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• पुत्राः: sons
• पुत्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महारथाः: great chariot-warriors
• महारथाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रायुध्यन्त: they fought
• प्रायुध्यन्त: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Imperfect, 3rd, Plural, Ātmanepada

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed in front / having put forward
• पुरस्कृत्य: —
• Type: Verb
• Root: पुरस्-कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive), Active

• मातङ्गाः: elephants
• मातङ्गाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as
• इव: —
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• यूथपम्: the leader of the herd
• यूथपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यूथप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Arjuna (Savyasācī)
• Pāṇḍavas
• Kauravas (speaker’s sons)
• yūthapa (herd-leader elephant, as simile)
• lion (simile)
• musth elephant / lord of elephants (simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how even the most relied-upon champions—those set at the very front as protectors and sources of confidence—can fall in war. It highlights the fragility of martial power and the tragic inevitability that fuels the Stree Parva’s ethical reflection on violence and loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a key battlefield reversal: a formidable warrior, formerly advanced by the Kauravas as their spearhead and a terror to the Pāṇḍavas, has been killed by Arjuna. The event is intensified through animal similes (lion vs lion; musth elephant vs musth elephant) to convey equal strength and decisive defeat.