Mahabharata 7.119.13 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 119, Shloka 13

Śaineya–Bhūriśravas: Genealogy, Svayaṃvara Contest, and the Maheśvara Boon

Devanagari script

सारथिं च शतेनैव भारद्वाजस्य पश्यत: । लाघवं युयुधानस्य दृष्टवा द्रोणो महारथ:

Transliteration

sārathiṁ ca śatenaiva bhāradvājasya paśyataḥ | lāghavaṁ yuyudhānasya dṛṣṭvā droṇo mahārathaḥ ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—భారద్వాజుడు (ద్రోణుడు) చూస్తుండగానే యుయుధానుడు వంద బాణాలతో ఆయన సారథిని బాణవిద్ధం చేసెను. యుయుధానుని ఆ చురుకుదనాన్ని చూసి మహారథి ద్రోణుడు ప్రతిఘాతానికి సిద్ధమయ్యెను।

Word by Word

• सारथिम्: charioteer
• सारथिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सारथि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• शतेन: with a hundred (arrows)
• शतेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• भारद्वाजस्य: of Bhāradvāja (Droṇa)
• भारद्वाजस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारद्वाज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पश्यतः: while (he) was seeing / in the presence of (him) seeing
• पश्यतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्यत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• लाघवम्: lightness, agility
• लाघवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लाघव
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• युयुधानस्य: of Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)
• युयुधानस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: युयुधान
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• द्रोणः: Droṇa
• द्रोणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महारथः: great chariot-warrior
• महारथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Bhāradvāja)
• Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)
• charioteer (sārathi)
• arrows
• chariot

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how battlefield excellence (lāghava—agility and speed) provokes immediate counter-skill from an equal master, and it exposes the ethical strain of war: combatants often seek advantage by crippling the opponent’s supports (charioteer, horses), not only by confronting the warrior directly—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma that is effective yet morally fraught.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) strikes the charioteer with a hundred arrows in Droṇa’s sight; Droṇa, impressed by Sātyaki’s quickness, retaliates with a precise, overwhelming response—targeting Sātyaki’s charioteer and (as the surrounding passage indicates) the horses and standard—aiming to disable Sātyaki’s mobility and battlefield effectiveness.