Shloka 75

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 96: Sātyaki’s Line-Penetration, Encirclement, and Advance toward Arjuna

Devanagari script

वृतः प्रायान्महाबाहुरर्जुनस्य रथं प्रति । नानावादित्रघोषेण यथा वैरोचनिस्तथा

Transliteration

vṛtaḥ prāyān mahābāhur arjunasya rathaṃ prati | nānāvāditraghoṣeṇa yathā vairocanis tathā ||

Translation

वृतः प्रायान्महाबाहुरर्जुनस्य रथं प्रति। नानावादित्रघोषेण यथा वैरोचनिस्तथा॥

Word by Word

वृतःsurrounded, encompassed

प्रायात्went forth, advanced

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (hero)

अर्जुनस्यof Arjuna

रथम्chariot

प्रतिtowards

नानाvarious, diverse

वादित्रघोषेणwith the sound of musical instruments

यथाas, just as

वैindeed

रोचनिRocanī (name of a drum/war-instrument; also a proper name in some traditions)

इतिthus

तथाso, likewise

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna

ratha (chariot)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

External grandeur—noise, pageantry, and martial display—can sway fear and confidence, but ethical rightness (dharma) is not established by spectacle; it is tested by intention, conduct, and adherence to duty amid violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a mighty warrior moving, surrounded by supporters, toward Arjuna’s chariot, while many instruments resound; the scene is compared to the roaring tumult of a storm-cloud, emphasizing the charged atmosphere before or during a clash.