Shloka 12

दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः

Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva

Devanagari script

ततो दोणो महाराज बृहत्क्षत्रं विशेषयन्‌ । प्रादुश्चक्रे रणे दिव्यं ब्राह्ममस्त्रं सुदुर्जयम्‌,महाराज! इससे आपकी सेनाको बड़ा आश्चर्य हुआ। बृहत्क्षत्रद्वारा किये हुए उस अत्यन्त दुष्कर कर्मको देखकर उनकी अपेक्षा अपनी विशेषता प्रकट करते हुए द्रोणाचार्यने रणक्षेत्रमें परम दुर्जय दिव्य ब्रह्मास्त्र प्रकट किया

Transliteration

tato droṇo mahārāja bṛhatkṣatraṁ viśeṣayan | prāduścakre raṇe divyaṁ brāhmam astraṁ sudurjayam ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Daraufhin, o großer König, ließ Droṇa, um den mächtigen Vṛhatkṣatra zu überstrahlen, auf dem Schlachtfeld die göttliche Brahmāstra erscheinen—ein unbesiegbares Geschoss—und versetzte damit dein Heer in Staunen, während er durch den Griff nach höchster Himmelsmacht die sittliche Schwere des Kampfes steigerte.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'droṇaḥ': 'Droṇa (Dronācārya), the Kuru preceptor and commander', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'bṛhatkṣatram': "Bṛhatkṣatra (a warrior/king named Bṛhatkṣatra)

• also literally 'great kṣatra/warrior power'", 'viśeṣayan': 'distinguishing

• making (his own prowess) superior', 'prāduścakre': 'he brought forth

• displayed', 'raṇe': 'in battle

• on the battlefield', 'divyam': 'divine

• celestial', 'brāhmam astram': 'the Brahmā-weapon (brahmāstra), a supreme celestial missile', 'sudurjayam': 'very hard to conquer

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa (Dronācārya)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')
• Bṛhatkṣatra
• Brahmāstra (brāhmam astram)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how rivalry and the urge to prove superiority can drive warriors to escalate violence by invoking supreme weapons; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between martial success and the restraint expected in dharma-yuddha (righteous war).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, aiming to surpass Bṛhatkṣatra’s formidable display, reveals the divine brahmāstra on the battlefield, astonishing the Kaurava forces and intensifying the battle’s stakes.