Shloka 22

Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality

Devanagari script

पाण्डव: परवीरघ्न: सहदेव: प्रतापवान्‌ | ततो<स्य सुमहद्‌ युद्धमासीद्‌ भीरुभयंकरम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | pāṇḍavaḥ paravīraghnaḥ sahadevaḥ pratāpavān | tato 'sya sumahad yuddham āsīd bhīrubhayaṅkaram |

Translation

पाण्डवः परवीरघ्नः सहदेवः प्रतापवान्। ततोऽस्य सुमहद्युद्धमासीद्भीरुभयंकरम्॥

Word by Word

• {'pāṇḍavaḥ': 'a son of Pāṇḍu

• one of the Pāṇḍava brothers', 'paravīraghnaḥ': 'slayer of enemy heroes (para-vīra-ghna)', 'sahadevaḥ': 'Sahadeva (youngest Pāṇḍava)', 'pratāpavān': 'powerful, valorous, possessed of splendor/energy', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'asya': 'for him

• of him', 'sumahat': 'very great, immense', 'yuddham': 'battle, war', 'āsīt': 'was, arose', 'bhīru-bhayaṅkaram': 'terrifying to the timid/cowardly

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Sahadeva
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds kṣatriya valor and the stark ethical reality of war: true heroism is measured by steadfastness amid mortal danger, while battle inevitably brings fear, destruction, and uncertainty of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Sahadeva as a formidable Pāṇḍava warrior and introduces the onset of an immense, fearsome battle involving him, emphasizing its intensity and terror for the faint-hearted.