Shloka 19

खाण्डवप्रस्थप्रवेशः तथा इन्द्रप्रस्थनिर्माणवर्णनम् | Entry into Khāṇḍavaprastha and Description of Indraprastha’s Founding

Devanagari script

मन्यते स वृतं पुत्र ज्येष्ठं द्रपदकन्यया । दुर्योधनमविज्ञानात्‌ प्रज्ञाचक्षुनरिश्वर:,उस अंधे नरेशने अज्ञानवश यह समझ लिया कि “ट्रुपदकन्याने मेरे ज्येष्ठ पुत्र दुर्योधनका वरण किया है”

Transliteration

manyate sa vṛtaṃ putra jyeṣṭhaṃ drupadakanyayā | duryodhanam avijñānāt prajñācakṣur nariśvaraḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Vom Unwissen geblendet, verwechselte der König—obwohl als „weisheitsäugig“ gerühmt—die Sache und glaubte, Drupadas Tochter habe seinen ältesten Sohn Duryodhana zum Gemahl erwählt.

Word by Word

मन्यतेthinks/considers

सःhe

वृतम्chosen

पुत्रम्son

ज्येष्ठम्eldest

द्रपदकन्ययाby the daughter of Drupada (Draupadī)

दुर्योधनम्Duryodhana

अविज्ञानात्from ignorance / due to lack of understanding

प्रज्ञाचक्षुःone whose eyes are wisdom (i.e., wise-seeing)

नृश्वरःlord of men/king

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Duryodhana

Drupada

Drupada’s daughter (Draupadī)

the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied)

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 warns that ignorance and attachment can corrupt discernment; even a ruler expected to see with wisdom may misread reality when driven by bias and desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

The king, due to misunderstanding, assumes that Drupada’s daughter has selected his eldest son Duryodhana—an error that reflects the court’s deluded expectations around the marriage choice.