Shloka 18

Droṇa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna-yuddha (द्रोण-धृष्टद्युम्न-युद्धम्) — Tactical duel and allied interventions

Devanagari script

मानिनं समरे दृप्तं कृतवैरं महारथम्‌

Transliteration

māninaṃ samare dṛptaṃ kṛtavairaṃ mahāratham

Translation

Sañjaya said: “(He was) a proud man—arrogant in battle—one who had made enmity his settled course, and a great chariot-warrior.”

Word by Word

• मानिनम्: proud, self-respecting
• मानिनम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मानिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• दृप्तम्: arrogant, haughty
• दृप्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृप्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कृतवैरम्: having made enmity; one who has formed a feud
• कृतवैरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतवैर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• महारथम्: a great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how inner dispositions—pride, overconfidence, and entrenched enmity—shape the moral weight of warfare. Martial excellence (mahāratha) is not ethically neutral; when joined to arrogance and deliberate hostility, it becomes a warning about the dangers of ego and feud in dharmic conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is characterizing a warrior in the Kurukṣetra war, describing him as proud, battle-arrogant, committed to enmity, and of the highest fighting rank (mahāratha), setting the tone for the confrontation being reported to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.