Shloka 34

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility

Book 6, Chapter 61

Devanagari script

तावकांस्तव पुत्रांश्व सहितान्‌ सर्वराजभि: । द्रावयामासुराजौ ते त्रिदशा दानवानिव

Transliteration

tāvakāṁs tava putrāṁś ca sahitān sarvarājabhiḥ | drāvayāmāsur ājau te tridaśā dānavān iva, bharatanandana |

Translation

三阇耶说道：噢，婆罗多族的荣光啊，你的儿子们连同诸盟王，在战斗中被迫溃退奔逃，正如诸天驱逐达那婆一般。

Word by Word

• तावकान्: your (people/men)
• तावकान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• पुत्रान्: sons
• पुत्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• सहितान्: accompanied (together) / along with
• सहितान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वराजभिः: with all the kings
• सर्वराजभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वराज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• द्रावयामासुः: they put to flight / drove away
• Type: Verb
• Root: द्रु (द्रावयति)
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic Perfect), Third, Plural

• अजौ: the two (unborn ones) i.e., the two warriors (pair)
• अजौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• ते: those two / they (dual)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Nominative, Dual

• त्रिदशाः: the gods
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिदश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दानवान्: demons (Danavas)
• दानवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• भरतनन्दन: O descendant/delight of Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address: Bharatanandana)
• Kauravas (your sons)
• Allied kings (sarvarājāḥ)
• Tridaśas (gods)
• Dānavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the moral universe of the Mahābhārata, adharma tends to lose stability: when resolve, unity, and righteous momentum gather on one side, even a large coalition can be shaken. The simile of gods driving away Dānavas frames the rout as a turning of fortune aligned with cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces—his sons along with their allied kings—were driven back on the battlefield. The retreat is compared to the Dānavas being chased away by the gods, emphasizing the intensity and decisiveness of the Pāṇḍava side’s assault at that moment.