Mahabharata · 7.22.1
॥
Devanāgarī
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
सर्वेषाम् एव मे ब्रूहि रथचिह्नानि संजय ॥
ये द्रोणम् अभ्यवर्तन्त क्रुद्धा भीमपुरोगमाः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
sarveṣām eva me brūhi rathacihnāni saṃjaya ||
ye droṇam abhyavartanta kruddhā bhīmapurogamāḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सर्वेषाम्sarveṣāmof all; [of] all
एवevaindeed; [indeed]
मेmeto me; to me
ब्रूहिbrūhitell [relate]; relate
रथचिह्नानिrathacihnānichariot signs [chariot emblems]; chariot emblems
संजयsaṃjayaO Sanjaya; O Sanjaya
येyewho [those who]; [those] who
द्रोणम्droṇam[at] Drona; [at] Drona
अभ्यवर्तन्तabhyavartantaadvanced [went to meet]; went [to meet]
क्रुद्धाःkruddhāḥenraged; [in] wrath
भीमपुरोगमाःbhīmapurogamāḥled by Bhima [with Bhima at the head]; [with] Bhima at the head
Translation
Tell me, O Sanjaya, the chariot emblems of all those who, in wrath, with Bhima at their head, went to meet Drona.
Version
3280e1819a00 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The blind king asks to be told the "signs of the chariots" -- the marks by which warriors on the field were told apart: emblems, banners, the color of horses. In this request lies a wish to see the unseen, to picture to himself those his eyes cannot behold. It is telling that the account, in answering, will not merge those advancing into a faceless crowd, but will name each by his mark. The verse teaches that it is fitting to remember the fighters by name, without dissolving them into a bare tally; that each has his own sign, his own face, setting him apart from the rest; and that attention to the individual person -- even to the color of his horses -- is a kind of respect for the uniqueness of each one who goes into mortal battle.