Mahabharata 7.81.60 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 81, Shloka 60

Yudhiṣṭhira–Droṇa Saṃgrāma

Engagement and Countermeasures

Devanagari script

वृषध्वजाय मुण्डाय जलिने ब्रह्मचारिणे | तप्यमानाय सलिले ब्रह्मण्यायाजिताय च

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

vṛṣadhvajāya muṇḍāya jaline brahmacāriṇe |

tapyamānāya salile brahmaṇyāyājitāya ca ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Salam sujud berulang-ulang kepada Śiva—yang panjinya bertanda lembu; yang berkepala dicukur; yang berambut kusut dan hidup sebagai brahmacārin (selibat suci); yang bertapa ketika tenggelam dalam air; yang berbakti kepada para Brahmin dan tidak terkalahkan.”

Word by Word

• वृषध्वजाय: to the one whose banner bears a bull (Śiva)
• वृषध्वजाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• मुण्डाय: to the shaven-headed one
• मुण्डाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुण्ड
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• जलिने: to the one associated with water / dwelling in water
• जलिने: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जलिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• ब्रह्मचारिणे: to the celibate (brahmacārin)
• ब्रह्मचारिणे: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मचारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• तप्यमानाय: to the one performing austerity (being engaged in tapas)
• तप्यमानाय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तप्
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• सलिले: in water
• सलिले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• ब्रह्मण्याय: to the brahmin-devoted / protector of Brahmins
• ब्रह्मण्याय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्रह्मण्य
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• अजिताय: to the unconquered one
• अजिताय: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अजित
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Shiva (Rudra)
• Bull-banner (vṛṣadhvaja) as Śiva’s emblem

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, the text foregrounds dharma through devotion: Śiva is praised as unconquered and as the guardian of brahmaṇya (reverence for Brahmins and sacred order). The hymn implies that true strength is grounded in tapas (discipline), restraint (brahmacarya), and alignment with cosmic law, not merely martial power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya narrates a stuti (hymn) to Śiva, listing ascetic and divine epithets—bull-bannered, shaven-headed, water-immersed, celibate, devoted to Brahmins, unconquered—invoking Śiva’s protection and supremacy as the war’s events intensify.