Mahabharata — Adi Parva, Shloka 44

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 115 — Mādri’s request; invocation of the Aśvins; birth and naming of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

महारथानां वीराणां कन्या चैका शताधिका । युयुत्सुश्चन महातेजा वैश्यापुत्र: प्रतापवान्‌

Transliteration

mahārathānāṃ vīrāṇāṃ kanyā caikā śatādhikā | yuyutsuś ca mahātejā vaiśyāputraḥ pratāpavān ||

Translation

毗湿摩耶那说道：持国王有一百位英勇的儿子，皆为大车战士；此外还有一位女儿。又有优优都苏——心志高迈、威力雄强——出自吠舍女子之子，以勇武著称。此段强调：价值并非仅由血统与阶序所定；即便不出自王后之胎，王之子亦可具备公认的才能，并在道义与王统的叙事中占有独特的位置。

Word by Word

• महारथानाम्: of great chariot-warriors
• महारथानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वीराणाम्: of heroes
• वीराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कन्या: a daughter
• कन्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एका: one
• एका: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शताधिका: exceeding a hundred (i.e., the 101st)
• शताधिका: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शताधिक
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• युयुत्सुः: Yuyutsu
• युयुत्सुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युयुत्सु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• न: indeed/also (emphatic particle; sometimes 'not' depending on context)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• महातेजाः: of great splendor
• महातेजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महातेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वैश्यापुत्रः: son of a Vaiśyā (woman of the Vaiśya class)
• वैश्यापुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैश्यापुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रतापवान्: valorous, mighty
• प्रतापवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतापवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Yuyutsu
• Kaurava sons (the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Kaurava daughter (one daughter besides the hundred sons)
• Vaiśya woman (mother of Yuyutsu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that personal merit and recognized prowess can exist beyond formal royal lineage: Yuyutsu, though born of a Vaiśya woman, is acknowledged as mahātejā and pratāpavān, reminding readers that worth is not confined to the queen’s offspring alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator summarizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s progeny: a hundred warrior sons, one additional daughter, and Yuyutsu—his valorous son born from a Vaiśya woman—thereby completing an important genealogical note within the Kuru family history.