Mahabharata 7.185.29 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 185, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अस्त्रहेतोर्गत॑ ज्ञात्वा पाण्डवं श्वेतवाहनम्‌

Transliteration

astra-hetor gataṁ jñātvā pāṇḍavaṁ śveta-vāhanam | śrī-kṛṣṇa! śveta-vāhana arjuna-ko astra-prāpti-ke liye anyatra gayā huā jānkar mahā-dhanu-dhara ghaṭotkaca kāmyaka-vane meṁ mere pās āyā aura jaba-taka arjuna lauṭa nahīṁ āye taba-taka hamāre sātha hī rahā |

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു— “ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണാ! ശ്വേതവാഹനനായ പാണ്ഡവ അർജുനൻ അസ്ത്രപ്രാപ്തിക്കായി മറ്റിടത്തേക്ക് പോയതായി അറിഞ്ഞ്, മഹാധനുർധരനായ ഘടോത്കചൻ കാമ്യകവനത്തിൽ എന്റെ അടുക്കൽ വന്നു; അർജുനൻ മടങ്ങിവരുവോളം അവൻ ഞങ്ങളോടൊപ്പം തന്നെ പാർത്തു.”

Word by Word

• अस्त्रहेतोः: for the sake of obtaining weapons (lit. of the weapon-purpose)
• अस्त्रहेतोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्रहेतु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• गतः: gone
• गतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: क्त, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ज्ञात्वा: having known
• ज्ञात्वा: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: ज्ञा
• Form: क्त्वा, Parasmaipada (gerund)

• पाण्डवम्: the Pandava (Arjuna)
• पाण्डवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• श्वेतवाहनम्: him whose chariot/horses are white
• श्वेतवाहनम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्वेतवाहन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• Ghaṭotkaca
• Kāmyaka forest
• astra (divine weapons)
• white-horsed chariot (śveta-vāhana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

When a principal defender is absent, dharmic responsibility shifts to allies: vigilance, solidarity, and timely support preserve the community and the righteous cause even amid war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna has gone elsewhere to obtain powerful astras. Recognizing this, Ghaṭotkaca—an important Pāṇḍava ally—comes to Sañjaya in the Kāmyaka forest and stays with them until Arjuna returns, ensuring protection and continuity.