Shloka 120

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहा भारते द्रोणपर्वणि जयद्रथवधपर्वणि सात्यकिप्रवेशे दुर्योधनपलायने विंशत्यधिकशततमो<ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi jayadrathavadhaparvaṇi sātyakipraveśe duryodhanapalāyane viṁśatyadhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ

Translation

So endet im ehrwürdigen Mahābhārata, innerhalb des Droṇa-Parva—genauer im Abschnitt von der Tötung Jayadrathas—das Kapitel, das Sātyakis Eintritt in die Schlacht und Duryodhanas Rückzug schildert. Dieses Kolophon verortet die Begebenheit im größeren moralischen und strategischen Bogen des Krieges und markiert den Augenblick, da Tapferkeit und taktischer Druck einen entscheidenden Anführer zum Weichen zwingen.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

श्रीglory; auspiciousness; honorific

महाgreat (in)

भारतेin the Bhārata (Mahābhārata)

द्रोणपर्वणिin the Droṇa-parvan

जयद्रथवधपर्वणिin the section (parvan) on the slaying of Jayadratha

सात्यकिप्रवेशेat/within (the episode of) Sātyaki's entry

दुर्योधनपलायनेat/within (the episode of) Duryodhana's flight

विंशतिtwenty

अधिकadditional; more

शततमःhundredth

अध्यायःchapter

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

Droṇa Parva

Jayadratha

Sātyaki

Duryodhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; it frames the episode’s ethical and strategic significance: courage and pressure in righteous pursuit can compel even powerful leaders to retreat, highlighting how conduct and resolve shape outcomes in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

The line marks the end of a chapter in Droṇa Parva, within the Jayadratha-slaying section, summarizing that the chapter covered Sātyaki’s entry/advance and Duryodhana’s retreat, and identifying it as the 120th chapter.