Shloka 3

दुर्योधन-कर्ण-संवादः

Duryodhana–Karna Dialogue on Vyūha-bheda and Daiva

Devanagari script

तव प्रियहिते युक्तो महेष्वासो महाबल: । चित्रपुड्खै: शितैर्बाणै: कलशोत्तमसम्भव:,(जघान सोमकान्‌ राजन्‌ सृ०जयान्‌ केकयानपि ।) राजन! आपके प्रिय और हित-साधनमें लगे हुए महाधनुर्धर महाबली उत्तम कलशजन्मा द्रोणाचार्यने अपने विचित्र पंखोंवाले पैने बाणोंद्वारा सोमकों, सूंजयों तथा केकयोंका संहार आरम्भ किया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tava priyahite yukto maheṣvāso mahābalaḥ | citrapuḍkhaiḥ śitair bāṇaiḥ kalaśottamasambhavaḥ | jaghāna somakān rājan sṛñjayān kekayān api |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Darauf bedacht, was dir lieb und zuträglich war, begann der mächtige Großbogenschütze—Droṇa, aus dem vortrefflichen Gefäß geboren—die Somakas, die Sṛñjayas und die Kekayas mit scharfen Pfeilen, die bunt gefiedert waren, niederzustrecken.

Word by Word

तवof you/your

प्रियहितेin (your) dear-and-beneficial matter; for your welfare

युक्तःengaged, devoted

महेष्वासःgreat archer

महाबलःvery strong, mighty

चित्रपुड्खैःwith arrows having variegated feathers

शितैःsharp

बाणैःwith arrows

कलशोत्तमसम्भवःborn from the excellent jar (i.e., Drona)

जघानslew, struck down

सोमकान्the Somakas

राजन्O king

सृञ्जयान्the Sṛñjayas

केकयान्the Kekayas

अपिalso, even

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Drona (Droṇācārya)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan' as the listener)

Somakas

Sṛñjayas

Kekayas

sharp arrows (bāṇa)

variegated feathers (puḍkha)

kalaśa (vessel) (as birth-epithet context)

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 devotion to a ruler’s 'dear and beneficial' aims can channel extraordinary skill into lethal action. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between loyalty/duty to one’s side and the escalating harm that such loyalty can produce in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Droṇa, the powerful master archer, begins a fierce assault—using sharp, feathered arrows—to cut down the Somakas, Sṛñjayas, and Kekayas on the battlefield.