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

Người ấy, giữa loài người, hằng đạt đến chuẩn mực tối thượng của uy quyền và xuất chúng—Arjuna, kẻ mang cung Gāṇḍīva, người điều khiển những tuấn mã trắng, và người có chiến kỳ mang dấu hiệu của bậc vương hầu loài khỉ—được nhắc lại và nhận diện như khuôn mẫu tối cao trong cõi nhân gian.

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सदैव: always indeed
• सदैव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा + एव

• मनुष्येषु: among men
• मनुष्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• प्रमाणम्: authority; standard
• प्रमाणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गतः: having attained; become
• गतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गाण्डीवधन्वा: the bearer of the Gāṇḍīva bow
• गाण्डीवधन्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीवधन्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वेताश्वः: he whose horses are white (Arjuna)
• श्वेताश्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेताश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कपिप्रवरकेतनः: he whose banner bears the foremost monkey (Hanumān)
• कपिप्रवरकेतनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिप्रवरकेतन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

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.