Mahabharata 7.79.15 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 79, Shloka 15

Jayadratha-rakṣā: Conch Signals and Encirclement of Arjuna

Chapter 79

Devanagari script

स्वस्त्रीयं वासुदेवस्य पुत्र गाण्डीवधन्चन: । कथं त्वातिरथं वीर द्रक्ष्याम्पद्य निपातितम्‌

Transliteration

svastriyaṁ vāsudevasya putra gāṇḍīvadhanvanaḥ | kathaṁ tvātirathaṁ vīra drakṣyāmy adya nipātitam ||

Translation

వాసుదేవుని స్వజనుడవు, గాండీవధారి అర్జునుని కుమారుడవు, అతిరథ వీరుడవు—నిన్ను ఈ రోజు నేలపై పడిపోయినవాడిగా నేను ఎలా చూడగలను?

Word by Word

• स्वस्त्रियम्: one's own wife
• स्वस्त्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वस्त्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• वासुदेवस्य: of Vasudeva
• वासुदेवस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पुत्रम्: son
• पुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गाण्डीवधन्वानम्: the bearer of the Gāṇḍīva bow (Arjuna)
• गाण्डीवधन्वानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीवधन्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• कथम्: how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• त्वा: you
• त्वा: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• अतिरथम्: a great chariot-warrior
• अतिरथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अतिरथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वीर: O hero
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• द्रक्ष्यामि: shall see
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अद्य: today
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य

• निपातितम्: felled, struck down
• Type: Participle
• Root: नि-पत्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative, Singular, Past Passive Participle (kta)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Arjuna (Gāṇḍīva-dhanvan)
• Gāṇḍīva (bow)
• Abhimanyu (implied as the fallen heroic son)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of war: even the fall of a supremely qualified warrior (atiratha) is not merely a tactical event but a moral and emotional catastrophe, intensified by bonds of kinship. It highlights how dharma-yuddha claims are strained when the young and heroic are brought down.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, laments the sight of Abhimanyu—Arjuna’s son and closely connected to Kṛṣṇa’s family—lying slain on the battlefield, emphasizing his valor and the shock of his fall.