Shloka 38

Devanagari script

द्यौरासीत्‌ सूतपुत्रस्य पक्षे मातेव धिष्ठिता

Transliteration

dyaur āsīt sūtaputrasya pakṣe māteva dhiṣṭhitā

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Der Himmel selbst schien auf der Seite des Sohns des Wagenlenkers (Karna) zu stehen, wie eine Mutter, die fest steht, um ihr Kind zu schützen—als ob sogar die Elemente in jenem Augenblick des Krieges ihm gewogen wären.

Word by Word

द्यौःthe sky

आसीत्was

सूतपुत्रस्यof the charioteer’s son (Karna)

पक्षेon the side

माताa mother

इवas if / like

अधिष्ठिताstood over / presided (supportively)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karna (Sūtaputra)

Dyauḥ (the sky/heaven)

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, in epic war narrative, perceived cosmic or elemental support is used to convey a warrior’s momentary ascendancy and the moral-emotional force behind it—here, Karṇa’s side is portrayed as receiving protective, almost maternal backing from the heavens, underscoring the theme that human struggle is often framed against a larger, fate-tinged cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield situation in which Karṇa’s position appears extraordinarily favored: even the sky is depicted as taking his side, standing firm like a mother protecting her child—an image that intensifies the sense of Karṇa’s power and the ominous grandeur of the conflict.