Mahabharata 7.185.2 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 185, Shloka 2

Devanagari script

यदि जानीथ तां शक्तिमेकघ्नीं सततं रणे । अनिवार्यामसहांं च देवैरपि सवासवै:

Transliteration

yadi jānītha tāṁ śaktim ekaghnīṁ satataṁ raṇe | anivāryām asahāṁ ca devair api savāsavaiḥ ||

Translation

യുദ്ധത്തിൽ എപ്പോഴും ഒരൊറ്റ പ്രഹരത്തിൽ വധിക്കുന്ന, തടയാനാകാത്തതും സഹിക്കാനാകാത്തതുമായ—ഇന്ദ്രനോടുകൂടിയ ദേവന്മാർക്കും പോലും—ആ ശക്തിയെ നീ അറിയുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ (പറയുക).

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि

• जानीथ: you know
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा
• Form: Lat, Present (indicative), 2, Plural, Parasmaipada

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शक्तिम्: power; (also) spear/weapon named Śakti
• शक्तिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• एकघ्नीम्: slaying with a single (stroke); single-slayer
• एकघ्नीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकघ्नी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सततम्: always; continually
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सतत

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अनिवार्याम्: irresistible; unavoidable
• अनिवार्याम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिवार्य
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• असहाम्: unbearable; intolerable
• असहाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असह
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• देवैः: by the gods
• देवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अपि: even; also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• सवासवैः: together with Indra (Vāsava); along with Vāsava
• सवासवैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सवासव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Śakti (spear-weapon)
• Devas (gods)
• Vāsava/Indra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the terrifying moral and strategic weight of extraordinary weapons: when force becomes ‘irresistible’ and ‘single-slaying,’ it intensifies fear, uncertainty, and the ethical burden of war, reminding the listener that power can exceed even divine resistance and thus demands grave discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions his interlocutor about a famed spear-weapon (śakti) described as unfailingly lethal in battle—so overpowering that even the gods with Indra cannot withstand it—seeking clarity about its nature and implications amid the unfolding conflict.