Shloka 11

Devanagari script

तदागमनजं हेतुं पप्रच्छ मधुसूदन: । ततो दुर्योधन: कृष्णमुवाच प्रहसन्निव

Transliteration

tadāgamanajaṃ hetuṃ papraccha madhusūdanaḥ | tato duryodhanaḥ kṛṣṇam uvāca prahasann iva ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa) fragte nach dem Grund ihres Kommens. Da redete Duryodhana Kṛṣṇa an, als läge ein spöttisches Lächeln auf seinen Lippen.

Word by Word

तत्that

आगमनजम्arising from the arrival

हेतुम्cause, reason

पप्रच्छasked

मधुसूदनःMadhusūdana (Krishna)

ततःthen, thereafter

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

कृष्णम्Krishna

उवाचsaid, spoke

प्रहसन्laughing, smiling

इवas if

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Madhusūdana (Kṛṣṇa)

Duryodhana

Kṛṣṇa

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 the ethical tension before conflict: a righteous inquiry into motives (Krishna asking the cause) is met by a tone of pride or derision (Duryodhana speaking with a smile), foreshadowing how arrogance can obstruct dharmic counsel and peaceful resolution.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the narrated scene, Krishna (Madhusudana) asks what prompted the arrival/approach in question; Duryodhana then responds to Krishna, apparently smiling—suggesting confidence, sarcasm, or dismissiveness as the political situation escalates toward war.