Shloka 3

Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)

Devanagari script

कृतशौचांस्ततस्तांस्तु पाण्डवान्‌ भरतर्षभान्‌ । आदाय विविशु: सर्वे पुरं वारणसाह्नयम्‌

Transliteration

kṛtaśaucāṁs tatas tāṁs tu pāṇḍavān bharatarṣabhān | ādāya viviśuḥ sarve puraṁ vāraṇasāhvayam ||

Translation

پھر جب بھرتوں میں برتر پاندَووں نے مرن-آشوچ سے فارغ ہو کر طہارت و تطہیر کے فرائض ادا کر لیے، تو سب بزرگ انہیں ساتھ لے کر وارَنساہْوَیَ—ہستناپور—کے شہر میں داخل ہوئے۔

Word by Word

• कृतशौचान्: having performed purification (having bathed/cleansed)
• कृतशौचान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतशौच
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तान्: those (them)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• पाण्डवान्: the Pandavas
• पाण्डवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• भरतर्षभान्: bulls among the Bharatas (best of the Bharata race)
• भरतर्षभान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतर्षभ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• आदाय: having taken (along)
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• विविशुः: they entered
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + विश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पुरम्: the city
• पुरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वारणसाह्नयम्: of the Vāraṇasāhna (i.e., Hāstinapura/elephant-city region)
• वारणसाह्नयम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वारणसाह्नय
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas
• Bharatas
• Vāraṇasāhvaya (Hastināpura)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma through śauca: after a period of impurity (aśauca), one should complete purification rites before resuming communal, civic, or royal participation—linking personal discipline with social and ethical order.

What is happening in the narrative?

After completing purification, the Pāṇḍavas are formally escorted by all concerned into the capital city, Vāraṇasāhvaya (Hastināpura), marking a return to public life and courtly setting.