Shloka 30

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 125: Duryodhana’s despair and vow after Jayadratha’s fall (जयद्रथवधे दुर्योधनविलापः)

Devanagari script

सात्वतो5पि महाराज तं॑ विव्याध स्तनान्तरे

Transliteration

sātvato 'pi mahārāja taṁ vivyādha stanāntare

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, even the Sātvata warrior struck him, piercing him in the region between the breasts. The narration underscores the relentless momentum of battle, where even renowned heroes are reduced to vulnerable bodies, and where skill and resolve—rather than status—decide the immediate turn of events.

Word by Word

• सात्वतः: the Sātvata (Krishna)
• सात्वतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्वत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced/wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• स्तनान्तरे: in the space between the breasts (in the chest)
• स्तनान्तरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्तनान्तर
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Sātvata (Sātyaki implied)
• the unnamed target (tam)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the stark ethic of the battlefield: in war, reputation and lineage do not shield anyone from injury. It implicitly points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring reflection that martial duty (kṣatriya-dharma) operates within a tragic economy of violence, where consequences are immediate and bodily.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Sātvata warrior (commonly understood as Sātyaki) pierces an opponent in the chest, specifically between the breasts, indicating a direct and forceful strike during the ongoing combat.