Shloka 21

Droṇa’s Rebuke to Duryodhana after Jayadratha’s Fall (द्रोणेन दुर्योधनं प्रति प्रत्युक्तिः)

Devanagari script

तथैव तावका राजन प्रार्थयन्तो महद्‌ यश:

Transliteration

tathaiva tāvakā rājan prārthayanto mahad yaśaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “In the same way, O King, your own warriors too were striving—seeking great renown.”

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed, just, only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• तावकाः: your men; those on your side
• तावकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तावक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• प्रार्थयन्तः: requesting, seeking, entreating
• प्रार्थयन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रार्थय्
• Form: Present active participle (parasmaipada), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यशः: fame, glory
• यशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kauravas (tāvakāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a key wartime ethic in the epic: combatants are driven by the pursuit of yaśas (honor/renown). It implicitly critiques how the desire for glory can intensify conflict, even when the larger war is morally fraught.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, just as others were acting in a certain way (from the immediately preceding context), the Kaurava side as well was pressing forward with the aim of winning great fame on the battlefield.