Shloka 13

Droṇanidhana-anantaraṃ sainya-viṣādaḥ and Karṇa-pravṛttiḥ

After Droṇa’s fall: army despondency and Karṇa’s advance

Devanagari script

भार्गव: प्रददौ यस्मै परमास्त्र महात्मने । साक्षाद्‌ रामेण यो बाल्ये धनुर्वेद उपाकृत:

Transliteration

bhārgavaḥ pradadau yasmai paramāstraṃ mahātmane | sākṣād rāmeṇa yo bālye dhanurveda upākṛtaḥ ||

Translation

ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആ മഹാത്മാവിന് ഭാർഗവൻ (പരശുരാമൻ) പരമാസ്ത്രം നൽകിയിരുന്നു; ബാല്യത്തിൽ സാക്ഷാൽ രാമൻ തന്നെയാണ് അവനെ ധനുർവേദത്തിൽ പരിശീലിപ്പിച്ചത്।

Word by Word

भार्गवःBhārgava (Paraśurāma)

प्रददौgave

यस्मैto whom

परमम्supreme, highest

अस्त्रम्weapon (missile)

महात्मनेto the great-souled one

साक्षात्directly, in person

रामेणby Rāma (Paraśurāma)

यःwho

बाल्येin childhood

धनुर्वेदःthe science of archery

उपाकृतःwas taught/communicated, was imparted

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhārgava (Paraśurāma)

Rāma (Paraśurāma)

paramāstra (supreme weapon)

dhanurveda (science of archery)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the immense moral and practical weight of martial knowledge: supreme weapons and the science of archery are transmitted through a teacher’s personal instruction, implying that power in war is inseparable from lineage, discipline, and the ethics of who is deemed worthy to receive such knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls that the Bhārgava Rāma (Paraśurāma) personally trained a great warrior from childhood in dhanurveda and even bestowed a supreme astric weapon upon him—underscoring the warrior’s formidable preparation and the authoritative source of his training.