Mahabharata 4.47.24 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 47, Shloka 24

कालविभाग-निरूपणं तथा युद्धव्यवस्था

Time-Reckoning and Mobilization Counsel

Devanagari script

इष्टा हि पाण्डवा नित्यमाचार्यस्य विशेषत: । आसयतन्नपरार्थाशक्ष कथ्यते सम स्वयं तथा

Transliteration

iṣṭā hi pāṇḍavā nityam ācāryasya viśeṣataḥ | āsayatān na parārthāś ca kathyate samaṃ svayaṃ tathā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Các Pāṇḍava vốn luôn được vị Đạo sư yêu mến—đặc biệt hơn cả. Những kẻ chỉ lo tư lợi đã giữ Droṇācārya ở bên ngài chỉ để phục vụ mưu đồ của họ. Chính họ cũng nói những lời khiến điều ta nói càng được xác chứng.”

Word by Word

• इष्टाः: dear, beloved
• इष्टाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इष्ट (इष् धातोः क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• पाण्डवाः: the Pandavas
• पाण्डवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नित्यम्: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नित्य

• आचार्यस्य: of the teacher (Drona)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• विशेषतः: especially
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pāṇḍavas
• Droṇācārya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical critique of self-serving politics: influential figures may be retained or positioned not for the common good but to advance private interests. It also underscores the moral weight of a teacher’s genuine affection and fairness, contrasting it with opportunistic manipulation by others.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments that Droṇa’s longstanding fondness for the Pāṇḍavas is well known. He suggests that certain self-interested people kept Droṇa close to the addressee (implicitly a ruler/party at court) for their own advantage, and that their own statements inadvertently corroborate this assessment.