Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 2036

Abhimanyu’s Śrāddha; Vyāsa’s Assurance of the Unborn Heir (अभिमन्योः श्राद्धं तथा गर्भरक्षणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

दौह्तित्रस्तव वार्ष्णेय दौःशासनिवशं गत: । “वृष्णिकुल भूषण पिताजी! तो भी शत्रुओंका बड़ा भारी संहार करके आपका वह दौहित्र युद्धमें द:ःशासन-कुमारके अधीन हुआ

Transliteration

dauhitrastava vārṣṇeya dauḥśāsanivaśaṃ gataḥ |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：“噢，瓦尔什涅耶（弗利什尼族的后裔）啊，你的外孙——纵然对敌军造成了极其惨烈的屠戮——终究在战斗中落入了杜赫沙娑那之子的掌控之下。”

Word by Word

• दौह्तित्रः: grandson (daughter's son)
• दौह्तित्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौह्तित्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• वार्ष्णेय: O descendant of Vṛṣṇi (Vārṣṇeya)
• वार्ष्णेय: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वार्ष्णेय
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• दौःशासनिवशम्: under the control of Duryodhana's son (Duḥśāsani)
• दौःशासनिवशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौःशासनिवश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गतः: went/has come; became (subject to)
• गतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Past (perfective), —, Singular, Masculine, Nominative

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vārṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa)
• dauhitra (grandson; unnamed in this pāda)
• Duḥśāsana
• Duḥśāsana’s son (Dauḥśāsani)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Martial success is unstable: even after inflicting great destruction, a warrior may still be overpowered. The epic repeatedly frames such reversals as reminders of the limits of human agency, the volatility of war, and the ethical weight of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports to the listener that Kṛṣṇa’s grandson, despite causing heavy losses to the foes, ended up subdued—coming under the power of Duḥśāsana’s son during the fighting.