Shloka 27

Devanagari script

त्वं तु सर्वाभिशड्कित्वान्निष्ठर: पापनिश्चय:

Transliteration

tvaṃ tu sarvābhiśaṅkitvān niṣṭhuraḥ pāpaniścayaḥ

Translation

Du aber — der du jeden verdächtigst — bist hartherzig geworden, mit einem Entschluss, der auf Unrecht festgelegt ist. Sanjayas Worte stellen dies als moralische Diagnose dar: Misstrauen verhärtet den Geist, und diese innere Verderbnis treibt nun deine Entscheidungen im Aufruhr des Krieges.

Word by Word

त्वम्you

तुbut/indeed

सर्वम्everything

अभिशङ्कित्वाhaving suspected/doubted

निष्ठुरःharsh/cruel

पापनिश्चयःone whose resolve is evil / of sinful intent

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

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 warns that universal suspicion corrodes character: when distrust becomes habitual, it hardens the heart (niṣṭhura) and can settle into a deliberate commitment to wrongdoing (pāpaniścaya). Ethical failure is shown as an inner disposition before it becomes an outer act.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, delivers a sharp moral appraisal of the addressed person’s mindset—contrasting earlier possibilities with the present state: pervasive suspicion has made him harsh and firmly inclined toward sinful action, a tone typical of battlefield counsel and blame in the Droṇa Parva.