Shloka 26

Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context

Devanagari script

य: सदैव मनुष्येषु प्रमाणं परमं गत: । गाण्डीवधन्वा श्वेताश्व: कपिप्रवरकेतन:

Transliteration

yaḥ sadaiva manuṣyeṣu pramāṇaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ | gāṇḍīvadhanvā śvetāśvaḥ kapipravaraketanaḥ ||

Translation

جو انسانوں میں ہمیشہ اعلیٰ ترین معیارِ حجّت و فضیلت کو پہنچا ہوا تھا—گاندیو بردار، سفید گھوڑوں والا، اور جس کے عَلَم پر برگزیدہ بندر کا نشان تھا—وہی ارجن انسانی دنیا میں برترین نمونہ کے طور پر یاد کیا گیا۔

Word by Word

यःwho

सदैवalways indeed

मनुष्येषुamong men

प्रमाणम्authority; standard

परमम्supreme

गतःhaving attained; become

गाण्डीवधन्वाthe bearer of the Gāṇḍīva bow

श्वेताश्वःhe whose horses are white (Arjuna)

कपिप्रवरकेतनःhe whose banner bears the foremost monkey (Hanumān)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Gāṇḍīva (bow)

Hanumān (as the monkey on the banner)

Arjuna’s chariot (implied by banner and horses)

White horses

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates Arjuna as a ‘pramāṇa’—a living standard of excellence among humans—using emblematic epithets (Gāṇḍīva, white horses, Hanumān-banner) to signal that true authority is grounded in proven virtue, prowess, and the recognized symbols of righteous power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies Arjuna through his well-known epithets, emphasizing his unmatched stature among men. In the Sauptika context, such identification heightens the contrast between celebrated heroic norms and the grim aftermath of the night-raid episode.