Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 153

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

त्रिपुरघ्नरथो यद्वद्‌ गोवृषेण विराजता । पाण्डवोंके आचार्य

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tripuraghnaratho yadvad govṛṣeṇa virājatā |

Translation

سنجے نے کہا—اے راجن! جیسے تریپورا کے ہلاک کرنے والے مہادیو (شیو) کا رتھ خوبصورت بیل کے نشان سے درخشاں ہوتا ہے، ویسے ہی پانڈوؤں کے آچاریہ، تپسوی برہمن، گوتَم گوتر کے کرپ آچاریہ کا عظیم رتھ اپنے علم پر نقشِ وِرشبھ (بیل) کے باعث نہایت شاندار دکھائی دیتا تھا۔

Word by Word

• त्रिपुरघ्नरथः: the chariot of the slayer of Tripura (Śiva)
• त्रिपुरघ्नरथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुरघ्न-रथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यद्वत्: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत्

• गोवृषेण: by/with the bull (emblem) associated with a cow/bull
• गोवृषेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो-वृष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विराजता: shines, is resplendent
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-राज्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Kripacharya (Kṛpācārya)
• Pandavas (Pāṇḍavāḥ)
• Gautama gotra
• Shiva (Mahadeva, Tripuraghna)
• Tripura
• Chariot (ratha)
• Banner/standard (dhvaja)
• Bull emblem (vṛṣabha-cihna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames battlefield description through dharmic and devotional imagery: a warrior-teacher’s martial splendor is legitimized by symbols of austerity and divine association (the bull emblem linked with Śiva), suggesting that power is ideally aligned with restraint, lineage-dharma, and sacred order rather than mere violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Kṛpācārya’s imposing chariot and its banner bearing a bull emblem, saying it shone brilliantly—comparable to Śiva’s chariot adorned with a bull-mark—thereby highlighting Kripa’s prominence and the awe his presence inspires in the ongoing war.