Mahabharata 7.187.15 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 187, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

उत्सहन्ते रणे जेतुं कुपितं सव्यसाचिनम्‌ | 'युद्धमें कुपित हुए सव्यसाची अर्जुनको न देवता, न गन्धर्व, न यक्ष और न राक्षस ही जीत सकते हैं ।। खाण्डवे येन भगवान प्रत्युद्यात: सुरेश्वर:

Transliteration

utsahante raṇe jetuṁ kupitaṁ savyasācinam | na devatā na gandharvā na yakṣā na ca rākṣasāḥ || khāṇḍave yena bhagavān pratyudyātaḥ sureśvaraḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Na batalha, ninguém pode esperar derrotar Arjuna enfurecido, o arqueiro ambidestro — nem os deuses, nem os Gandharvas, nem os Yakṣas, nem os Rākṣasas. É ele o mesmo herói diante de quem, em Khāṇḍava, o próprio Senhor dos deuses avançou outrora.”

Word by Word

• उत्सहन्ते: they are able / they dare
• उत्सहन्ते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्सह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• जेतुम्: to conquer
• जेतुम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि (धातु)
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive)

• कुपितम्: angered
• कुपितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुपित (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from कुप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• सव्यसाचिनम्: the ambidextrous archer (Arjuna)
• सव्यसाचिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna (Savyasācin)
• Devas
• Gandharvas
• Yakṣas
• Rākṣasas
• Khāṇḍava
• Indra (Sureśvara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical force of a warrior’s resolve: when a righteous Kṣatriya like Arjuna is provoked into just combat, his focused courage and skill become overwhelming—so much so that even superhuman classes of beings are said to be unable to defeat him. It also implies that dharmic determination, once awakened, carries immense power and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing Arjuna’s terrifying battlefield capability when angered. To emphasize this, he recalls the Khāṇḍava episode, where Arjuna’s prowess was such that even Indra, lord of the gods, came forward in opposition—serving as a benchmark for Arjuna’s extraordinary might.