Shloka 26

Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context

Devanagari script

य: सदैव मनुष्येषु प्रमाणं परमं गत: । गाण्डीवधन्वा श्वेताश्व: कपिप्रवरकेतन:

Transliteration

yaḥ sadaiva manuṣyeṣu pramāṇaṃ paramaṃ gataḥ | gāṇḍīvadhanvā śvetāśvaḥ kapipravaraketanaḥ ||

Translation

那位在世人之中恒常臻于权威与卓绝之最高准则者——执持甘狄婆弓（Gāṇḍīva）的阿周那，驾驭白马战车者，旗帜上绘有群猴之最尊者者——就这样被追忆并指认为人世间至高的典范。

Word by Word

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सदैव: always indeed
• सदैव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा + एव

• मनुष्येषु: among men
• मनुष्येषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• प्रमाणम्: authority; standard
• प्रमाणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रमाण
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• परमम्: supreme
• परमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गतः: having attained; become
• गतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गाण्डीवधन्वा: the bearer of the Gāṇḍīva bow
• गाण्डीवधन्वा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीवधन्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• श्वेताश्वः: he whose horses are white (Arjuna)
• श्वेताश्वः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेताश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कपिप्रवरकेतनः: he whose banner bears the foremost monkey (Hanumān)
• कपिप्रवरकेतनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कपिप्रवरकेतन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Gāṇḍīva (bow)
• Hanumān (as the monkey on the banner)
• Arjuna’s chariot (implied by banner and horses)
• White horses

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse elevates Arjuna as a ‘pramāṇa’—a living standard of excellence among humans—using emblematic epithets (Gāṇḍīva, white horses, Hanumān-banner) to signal that true authority is grounded in proven virtue, prowess, and the recognized symbols of righteous power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies Arjuna through his well-known epithets, emphasizing his unmatched stature among men. In the Sauptika context, such identification heightens the contrast between celebrated heroic norms and the grim aftermath of the night-raid episode.