Shloka 16

द्रोणवध-प्रश्नः

Droṇa’s Fall: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry

Devanagari script

हरिद्रासमवर्णास्तु जवना हेममालिन:

Transliteration

haridrāsamavarṇāstu javanā hemamālinaḥ

Translation

ਸੰਜਯ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਯਵਨ ਹਲਦੀ ਵਰਗੇ ਰੰਗ ਦੇ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਸੋਨੇ ਦੀਆਂ ਮਾਲਾਵਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਸਜੇ ਹੋਏ ਸਨ।

Word by Word

• हरिद्रा-सम-वर्णाः: having a color equal to turmeric (yellowish)
• हरिद्रा-सम-वर्णाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हरिद्रा + सम + वर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• जवनाः: the Yavanas (Greeks/foreigners)
• जवनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जवन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हेम-मालिनः: wearing garlands of gold
• हेम-मालिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेम + मालिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yavanas (Javanas)
• golden garlands (hemamālā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily serves descriptive narration rather than direct moral instruction; indirectly, it underscores how the Mahābhārata frames war as a morally charged spectacle where armies are portrayed with striking identities and adornments, intensifying the gravity of the conflict that dharma must judge.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a contingent of warriors—identified as Yavanas—highlighting their uniform turmeric-golden complexion and their golden garlands, as part of a broader battlefield catalogue of forces and their appearance.