Shloka 28

ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam

Description of War Standards

Devanagari script

अहं विजित्य तान्‌ सर्वान्‌ सहसा सहयद्विपान्‌

Transliteration

ahaṃ vijitya tān sarvān sahasā sahayadvipān

Translation

ਸੰਜਯ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—“ਮੈਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਸਭ ਨੂੰ—ਉਹਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਹਾਥੀਆਂ ਸਮੇਤ—ਝੱਟ ਹੀ ਜਿੱਤ ਲਿਆ…”

Word by Word

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• विजित्य: having conquered
• विजित्य: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + जि
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), —, —

• तान्: those (them)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सहसा: suddenly; by force; swiftly
• सहसा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा

• सह: together with
• सह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

• यद्विपान्: elephants
• यद्विपान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद्विप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants (war-elephants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores how quickly martial power can overturn armies, including their strongest assets (war-elephants). Ethically, it highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: kṣatriya prowess and duty in war versus the tragic cost and moral weight of conquest achieved through force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, begins describing a swift defeat of opposing forces, explicitly noting that the victory includes routing or destroying the elephant contingent—an indicator of a decisive, high-impact battlefield turn.