Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 44

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

महारथानां वीराणां कन्या चैका शताधिका । युयुत्सुश्चन महातेजा वैश्यापुत्र: प्रतापवान्‌

Transliteration

mahārathānāṃ vīrāṇāṃ kanyā caikā śatādhikā | yuyutsuś ca mahātejā vaiśyāputraḥ pratāpavān ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: У Дхритараштры было сто героических сыновей, все — великие колесничие воины; и, кроме них, была также одна дочь. И сверх того был Ююцу — высокодушный и могучий, сын женщины-вайшьи, прославленный своей доблестью. Отрывок подчеркивает: ни происхождение, ни общественный ранг сами по себе не определяют достоинства; даже вне чрева царицы сын царя может обладать признанной силой и особым местом в разворачивающемся нравственном и династическом повествовании.

Word by Word

• महारथानाम्: of great chariot-warriors
• महारथानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वीराणाम्: of heroes
• वीराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कन्या: a daughter
• कन्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• एका: one
• एका: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शताधिका: exceeding a hundred (i.e., the 101st)
• शताधिका: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शताधिक
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• युयुत्सुः: Yuyutsu
• युयुत्सुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युयुत्सु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• न: indeed/also (emphatic particle; sometimes 'not' depending on context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• महातेजाः: of great splendor
• महातेजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महातेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वैश्यापुत्रः: son of a Vaiśyā (woman of the Vaiśya class)
• वैश्यापुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्यापुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रतापवान्: valorous, mighty
• प्रतापवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतापवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Yuyutsu
• Kaurava sons (the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Kaurava daughter (one daughter besides the hundred sons)
• Vaiśya woman (mother of Yuyutsu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that personal merit and recognized prowess can exist beyond formal royal lineage: Yuyutsu, though born of a Vaiśya woman, is acknowledged as mahātejā and pratāpavān, reminding readers that worth is not confined to the queen’s offspring alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator summarizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s progeny: a hundred warrior sons, one additional daughter, and Yuyutsu—his valorous son born from a Vaiśya woman—thereby completing an important genealogical note within the Kuru family history.