Shloka 21

धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca

Devanagari script

त्वां च मूढाकृतप्रज्ममतिमानिनमाहवे

Transliteration

tvāṃ ca mūḍhākṛtaprajñāmatimāninam āhave

Translation

„Und auch du — auf dem Schlachtfeld —, der du in Wahrheit ohne Unterscheidungsvermögen bist, doch den Anschein von Weisheit trägst und vor Selbstüberhebung anschwillst.“

Word by Word

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्: one whose understanding is made dull/confused
• मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूढाकृतप्रज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मतिमानिनम्: one who prides himself on (his) intellect
• मतिमानिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मतिमानिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse condemns the combination of delusion and arrogance: pretending to possess wisdom while lacking true discernment leads to ethical collapse, especially in the high-stakes setting of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reports a battlefield utterance in which someone is denounced as ‘deluded yet posing as wise’ and ‘excessively proud’—a sharp moral characterization amid the conflict.