Shloka 203

Devanagari script

आत्मापराधे सुमहन्ूनं तप्यति पुत्रक: । अपने कवचधारी भ्राताओंको युद्धमें भीमसेनके द्वारा मारा गया देख मेरे पुत्रको अपने अपराधके लिये अवश्य ही महान्‌ अनुताप हो रहा होगा

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | ātmāparādhe sumahān nūnaṃ tapyati putrakaḥ | apane kavacadhārī bhrātṝn yuddhe bhīmasenena dvārā mṛtān dṛṣṭvā mama putrasya svāparādhe niścayaṃ mahān anutāpo bhaviṣyati |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Surely my son is now burning with intense remorse over his own wrongdoing. Seeing his armoured brothers slain in battle by Bhīmasena, he must be feeling a great repentance for the fault that was his.”

Word by Word

• आत्मापराधे: in (his) own fault/offence
• आत्मापराधे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मापराध
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सुमहान्: very great
• सुमहान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमहत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नूनम्: surely, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम्

• तप्यति: burns (with grief), is tormented, repents
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुत्रकः: the son (dear son)
• पुत्रकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्रक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Duryodhana (implied as 'my son')
• Bhīmasena
• Kaurava brothers (armoured brothers; implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Wrongdoing (ātma-aparādha) inevitably ripens into inner torment and remorse (anutāpa), especially when its consequences fall upon one’s own kin; the verse highlights moral accountability amid the devastation of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on his son’s state of mind: after witnessing Bhīmasena slay his armoured brothers in battle, the son is presumed to be suffering intense regret for the choices and offenses that led to this ruin.