Shloka 39

Devanagari script

ध्रुवं स तेन हन्तव्य इत्यमन्यत पार्थिव: । जीवितं चिरकालं हि भ्रातृणां चाप्यमन्यत,इससे राजा दुर्योधन यह मान बैठा था कि अलायुध निश्चय ही भीमसेनको मार डालेगा और यही सोचकर उसने यह भी समझ लिया था कि अभी मेरे भाइयोंका जीवन चिरस्थायी है

Transliteration

dhruvaṃ sa tena hantavya ity amanyata pārthivaḥ | jīvitaṃ cirakālaṃ hi bhrātṝṇāṃ cāpy amanyata ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Der König (Duryodhana) meinte: „Gewiss wird Bhīmasena von ihm (Alāyudha) erschlagen werden.“ So denkend, wähnte er auch, das Leben seiner Brüder werde lange Zeit gesichert sein.

Word by Word

ध्रुवम्certainly, surely

सःhe

तेनby him

हन्तव्यःto be slain / must be killed

इतिthus

अमन्यतthought, considered

पार्थिवःthe king

जीवितम्life

चिरकालम्for a long time

हिindeed, for

भ्रातृणाम्of (his) brothers

चand

अपिalso

अमन्यतthought, considered

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Duryodhana

Alayudha

Bhimasena

Kaurava brothers

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?

The verse highlights how, in war, leaders often mistake desire for certainty—Duryodhana’s confidence that an enemy will be killed becomes the basis for false security about his brothers’ survival, showing the ethical danger of delusion and overconfidence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Duryodhana’s inner assessment: he believes Alāyudha will surely kill Bhīmasena, and from that assumption he concludes that the Kaurava brothers’ lives will be prolonged.