Shloka 186

Devanagari script

ऋते महेन्द्रतनयाच्छवेताश्वात्‌ कृष्णसारथे: । कृष्णसारथि

Transliteration

ṛte mahendratanayāc chvetāśvāt kṛṣṇasārathēḥ |

Translation

桑阇耶说道：除阿周那——因陀罗之子，驾白马之车，克里希那为御者——之外，其余般度诸人纵为大车战士，也无人能鼓起勇气去战胜那位婆罗多族的强大英雄，甚至不敢立于其前。此偈昭示：在战争的道德重压之下，真正的能力不仅取决于兵刃，更取决于心志的坚定与正义劝诫的扶持。

Word by Word

• ऋते: except, without
• ऋते: Apadana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऋते
• Form: indeclinable; governs ablative (pañcamī)

• महेन्द्रतनयात्: from the son of Mahendra (Indra), i.e., Arjuna
• महेन्द्रतनयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्रतनय
• Form: masculine; ablative; singular

• श्वेताश्वात्: from (him) of white horses
• श्वेताश्वात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेताश्व
• Form: masculine; ablative; singular

• कृष्णसारथेः: of the one whose charioteer is Kṛṣṇa
• कृष्णसारथेः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णसारथि
• Form: masculine; genitive; singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Indra (Mahendra)
• Kṛṣṇa
• Pāṇḍavas
• Bharata lineage
• white horses (Arjuna’s chariot team)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that true martial excellence includes inner courage and steadiness, and it implicitly elevates the role of righteous guidance—symbolized by Kṛṣṇa as Arjuna’s charioteer—showing how ethical counsel and clarity can enable one to face overwhelming power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that among the Pāṇḍavas, only Arjuna—identified by his divine parentage (Indra) and his chariot with white horses, guided by Kṛṣṇa—was able to confront and potentially defeat the formidable Bharata-line hero; the others could not bring themselves to face him.