Mahabharata 1.132.71 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 132, Shloka 71

Ādi-parva Adhyāya 132 — Duryodhana’s Instructions to Purocana at Vāraṇāvata

Lākṣāgṛha Planning

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो युधिष्ठिरं पूर्वमुवाचाज्धिरसां वर: । संधत्स्व बाणं दुर्धर्ष मद्वाक्यान्ते विमुडच तम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tato yudhiṣṭhiraṃ pūrvam uvāca āṅgirasāṃ varaḥ | saṃdhatsva bāṇaṃ durdharṣa madvākya-ante vimocaya tam ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—അപ്പോൾ അങ്ങിരസവംശത്തിലെ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ ദ്രോണൻ ആദ്യം യുധിഷ്ഠിരനോട് പറഞ്ഞു—“ദുര്ധർഷ വീരാ! ധനുസ്സിൽ അമ്പ് ചാർത്ത്; എന്റെ ആജ്ഞ പൂർത്തിയായ ഉടൻ അതിനെ വിട്ടയക്കുക.”

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'yudhiṣṭhiram': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (the eldest Pāṇḍava)', 'pūrvam': 'first, at the outset', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'āṅgirasām varaḥ': 'the best among the Aṅgiras lineage (epithet of Droṇa in this context)', 'saṃdhatsva': 'fix (it), set in place (imperative)', 'bāṇam': 'arrow', 'durdharṣa': 'hard to assail

• formidable (vocative)', 'mad-vākya-ante': 'at the end of my words

• upon completion of my command', 'vimocaya': 'release, let fly (imperative)', 'tam': 'that (arrow)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Droṇa
• Aṅgiras (lineage reference)
• arrow (bāṇa)
• bow (implied by setting the arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined power: even a capable warrior should act only at the right time and under proper guidance. Restraint and obedience to a legitimate teacher’s command are presented as ethical foundations for martial skill.

What is happening in the narrative?

Droṇa, the preeminent teacher, addresses Yudhiṣṭhira first and gives a precise archery instruction: nock the arrow and release it only when the command is fully given, emphasizing controlled execution in training.