Shloka 14

Rājagṛhe Magadheśvarasya yuddhāhvānam — Arjunena saṃyamaḥ

The Rājagṛha Challenge and Arjuna’s Restraint

Devanagari script

तमुन्मथ्य हयश्रेष्ठ यादवानां कुमारका:

Transliteration

tam unmathya hayaśreṣṭha yādavānāṃ kumārakāḥ

Translation

Các vương tử trẻ của nhà Yādava đã khích động và thúc con tuấn mã ấy, cho nó lên đường.

Word by Word

• तम्: him / that one
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उन्मथ्य: having churned up / having agitated / having uprooted
• Type: Verb
• Root: उन्मथ् (उद्+मथ्)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• हयश्रेष्ठ: the best of horses
• हयश्रेष्ठ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यादवानाम्: of the Yadavas
• Type: Noun
• Root: यादव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुमारकाः: the boys / young lads
• कुमारकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमारक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Hayaśreṣṭha (the excellent horse, i.e., the Aśvamedha horse)
• Yādavāḥ (the Yādavas)
• Kumārakāḥ (young princes/sons of the Yādavas)
• Vaiśampāyana (speaker)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined participation in a royal rite: youthful power is to be directed toward sanctioned duty and collective responsibility, not mere display. It implicitly frames energy and courage as meaningful when aligned with dharma and the larger social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Yādava youths/princes rouse and drive forward the excellent horse associated with the Aśvamedha. This indicates the horse’s active movement and the involvement of the Yādavas in the unfolding ritual and its attendant political-religious process.