Shloka 19

कर्णार्जुनयुद्ध-प्रवृत्तिः

Renewal of the Karṇa–Arjuna Engagement at Day’s End

Devanagari script

अथाड्रपुत्रे निहते हस्तिशिक्षाविशारदे । अड्जाः क्रुद्धा महामात्रा नागैर्नकुलमभ्ययु:,गजशिक्षामें कुशल अंगराजके पुत्रके मारे जानेपर कुपित हुए अंगदेशीय महावतोंने हाथियोंद्वारा नकुलपर आक्रमण किया

Transliteration

athāṅgarājaputre nihate hastīśikṣāviśārade | aṅgāḥ kruddhā mahāmātrā nāgair nakulam abhyayuḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Als der Sohn des Königs von Aṅga, kundig in der Kunst der Elefantendressur, erschlagen war, gerieten die Befehlshaber Angas (Mahouts und Offiziere) in Zorn und rückten mit ihren Kriegselefanten gegen Nakula vor.

Word by Word

अथthen

अद्रिपुत्रेwhen/after the son of (the) mountain (i.e., Angaraja’s son) [was slain]

निहतेslain

हस्तिशिक्षाविशारदेskilled in the training of elephants

अङ्गाःthe men of Anga (Angadeśīyāḥ)

क्रुद्धाःangered

महामात्राःgreat officers / chiefs (here: mahouts/commanders)

नागैःwith elephants

नकुलम्Nakula

अभ्ययुःattacked / advanced against

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Nakula

Aṅga (people/warriors of Aṅga)

Aṅgarāja-putra (son of the king of Aṅga)

Nāga (war-elephants)

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 attachment and loyalty in war often transform sorrow into anger, producing cycles of retaliation. Ethically, it illustrates the battlefield tendency for violence to escalate through vengeance rather than restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the son of the Aṅga king—an expert in elephant-training—has been killed, the Aṅga commanders/mahouts become furious and launch an attack on Nakula using their war-elephants.