1.14
ततः श्वेतैर्हयैर्युक्ते महति स्यन्दने स्थितौ ।
माधवः पाण्डवश्चैव दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः ॥
tataḥ śvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau
mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ
Across the field. Two men, one chariot.
The verse
Then, standing in the great chariot yoked with white horses, Mādhava (माधव) and the son of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु) blew their divine conches.
नेपालीमा
त्यसपछि सेता घोडा जोतेको ठूलो रथमा उभिएर माधव र पाण्डुका छोराले दिव्य शङ्ख फुके।
Where it sits
The book has so far been Duryodhana's view of two armies. This verse puts the two people the rest of the book is about into one chariot, on one side, named by epithets. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) is not called Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) yet. He is Mādhava (माधव). Arjuna is not called Arjuna yet. He is the son of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु). The next verse gives the conches their own names.
Split: ततः + श्वेतैः + हयैः + युक्ते + महति + स्यन्दने + स्थितौ + माधवः + पाण्डवः + च + एव + दिव्यौ + शङ्खौ + प्रदध्मतुः
tataḥ + śvetaiḥ + hayaiḥ + yukte + mahati + syandane + sthitau + mādhavaḥ + pāṇḍavaḥ + ca + eva + divyau + śaṅkhau + pradadhmatuḥ
Sanskrit, in depth
The words
| देवनागरी | Word | Grammar | Sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| ततः | tataḥ | indeclinable | then. |
| श्वेतैः | śvetaiḥ | instrumental plural | by white ones. With white ones. |
| हयैः | hayaiḥ | instrumental plural | by horses. |
| युक्ते | yukte | locative singular | yoked. In the one that has been yoked. |
| महति | mahati | locative of mahat (महत्) | in the great. |
| स्यन्दने | syandane | locative | in the chariot. syandana (स्यन्दन) is a war chariot, a thing that runs. |
| स्थितौ | sthitau | nominative dual | the two standing. |
| माधवः | mādhavaḥ | nominative | Mādhava (माधव). Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण), of the Madhu clan. |
| पाण्डवः | pāṇḍavaḥ | nominative | the son of Pāṇḍu (पाण्डु). Here, Arjuna. |
| दिव्यौ | divyau | accusative dual | the two divine ones. |
| शङ्खौ | śaṅkhau | accusative dual | the two conches. |
| प्रदध्मतुः | pradadhmatuḥ | perfect, 3rd dual | the two blew. |
The phrases
śvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane (श्वेतैर् हयैर् युक्ते महति स्यन्दने) is the place, in the locative. In the great chariot yoked with white horses. yukte (युक्ते) agrees with syandane (स्यन्दने): the chariot is the thing that has been yoked. śvetaiḥ hayaiḥ (श्वेतैः हयैः) has become śvetair hayair (श्वेतैर् हयैर्): --aiḥ (ऐः) before a voiced sound becomes --air (ऐर्).
sthitau (स्थितौ) is dual, and it agrees with the two men, not with the chariot. They are standing. The verb at the end is dual for the same reason. The chariot is where. The men are who.
mādhavaḥ pāṇḍavaś caiva (माधवः पाण्डवश् चैव) names the two. Kṛṣṇa (कृष्ण) and Arjuna. pāṇḍavaḥ ca eva (पाण्डवः च एव) becomes pāṇḍavaś caiva (पाण्डवश् चैव).
divyau śaṅkhau pradadhmatuḥ (दिव्यौ शङ्खौ प्रदध्मतुः) is what the two did. They blew two divine conches. The dual ending --au (औ) is on both the adjective and the noun, and the verb ending --atuḥ (अतुः) says "those two" again.
Sanskrit in this line
The dual is the number Sanskrit keeps for exactly two. English has lost it. --au (औ) on a noun in this verse is accusative dual: two conches. On sthitau (स्थितौ) the same-looking ending is nominative dual: the two who stand. You tell which by the job of the word. A verb in the dual, pradadhmatuḥ (प्रदध्मतुः), confirms that the subject is two.
A locative with a participle is still a place, described. yukte (युक्ते) tells you something about the chariot. It does not make a second sentence. sthitau (स्थितौ) is not locative at all. It is nominative dual, the two who stand, and they are the subject of pradadhmatuḥ (प्रदध्मतुः).
A locative absolute is the next step, and it arrives at 1.20. There the locative phrase has its own subject, different from the main verb: pravṛtte śastrasampāte (प्रवृत्ते शस्त्रसम्पाते), "when the clash of weapons had begun." Here, do not promote the chariot into a subject. It is the place the two men are standing.
Say it back
How many men, how many conches, what horses. Use a dual ending out loud for the conches.