Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 28

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

नवैते तव वाहिन्यामुच्छिता: परमध्वजा:

Transliteration

navaite tava vāhinyām ucchitāḥ paramadhvajāḥ

Translation

Санджая сказал: «Эти первейшие знаменосцы ныне сражены в твоём войске». Весть подчёркивает мрачную нравственную тяжесть войны: даже самые именитые воины, отмеченные высокими стягами и славой, не бывают пощажены, когда распря, движимая адхармой, достигает предела ярости.

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तव: of you, your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• वाहिन्याम्: in the army
• वाहिन्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहिनी
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• उच्छिताः: left remaining, surviving
• उच्छिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्-शि (शेते/शय)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमध्वजाः: chief-bannered warriors (leaders with lofty standards)
• परमध्वजाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परमध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• your army (Kaurava host)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power and prestige in war: even the ‘foremost standard-bearers’ fall. Ethically, it points to the heavy cost of violent conflict and the sobering accountability leaders bear when armies are driven into destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that nine eminent warriors—described as ‘paramadhvajāḥ’—have been slain within the Kaurava forces, emphasizing the scale and seriousness of the losses.