Shloka 20

Devanagari script

संक्रुद्धों भरतश्रेष्ठ पुत्रो दुर्योधनस्तव । वेगवन्तं महारौद्रं विद्युज्जिह्लं प्रमाथिनम्‌

Transliteration

saṅkruddhoṁ bharataśreṣṭha putro duryodhanas tava | vegavantaṁ mahāraudraṁ vidyujjihlaṁ pramāthinām ||

Translation

সঞ্জয় বললেন—হে ভরতশ্রেষ্ঠ! তোমার পুত্র দুর্যোধন ক্রোধে দগ্ধ হয়ে বেগবান, মহাভয়ংকর, বিদ্যুৎ-জিহ্বা-সম এবং সর্বনাশকারী হয়ে উঠল।

Word by Word

संक्रुद्धःenraged, highly angered

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

पुत्रःson

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

तवyour

वेगवन्तम्swift, impetuous

महारौद्रम्very fierce, exceedingly terrible

विद्युज्जिह्लम्having a lightning-like tongue

प्रमाथिनम्crushing, devastating, destroyer

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'bharataśreṣṭha' and 'tava')

Duryodhana

Bharata lineage

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how krodha (anger) transforms a warrior’s energy into destructive excess. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, uncontrolled passion eclipses विवेक (discernment) and accelerates adharma, making one ‘pramāthin’—a force that harms others and ultimately oneself.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana, provoked and furious, surges forward with terrifying momentum. The imagery—swift, fiercely violent, ‘lightning-tongued’—portrays his aggressive escalation on the battlefield.