Shloka 13

द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa

Devanagari script

अल्पावशेषो दिवसो नृवीर विघातयस्वाद्य रिपुं शरौचै: । दिनक्षयं प्राप्य नरप्रवीर ध्रुवो हि न: कर्ण जयो भविष्यति,“नरवीर! अब दिनका थोड़ा-सा ही भाग शेष है। तुम अपने बाणसमूहोंद्वारा इस समय शत्रुको घायल करके उसके कार्यमें बाधा डालो। मनुष्यलोकके प्रमुख वीर कर्ण! दिन समाप्त होनेपर तो निश्चय ही हमारी विजय हो जायगी

Transliteration

alpāvaśeṣo divaso nṛvīra vighātayasvādya ripuṁ śaraughaiḥ | dinakṣayaṁ prāpya narapravīra dhruvo hi naḥ karṇa jayo bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O hero among men, only a little of the day remains. Today, with volleys of arrows, strike and obstruct the enemy’s advance. O foremost of warriors, Karṇa—once the day reaches its end, our victory is surely to come.”

Word by Word

• {'alpāvaśeṣaḥ': 'having little remaining

• nearly finished', 'divasaḥ': 'day

• daytime', 'nṛvīra': 'hero among men

• mighty warrior (vocative)', 'vighātaya': 'strike, injure, thwart

• cause obstruction (imperative)', 'adya': 'today

• now', 'ripuṁ': 'enemy (accusative singular)', 'śaraughaiḥ': 'with masses/volleys of arrows (instrumental plural)', 'dinakṣayam': 'the end/waning of the day

• day’s close (accusative)', 'prāpya': 'having reached

• upon attaining', 'narapravīra': 'foremost among men/warriors (vocative)', 'dhruvaḥ': 'certain, assured', 'hi': 'indeed, surely', 'naḥ': 'for us

• our', 'karṇa': 'Karṇa (vocative)', 'jayaḥ': 'victory', 'bhaviṣyati': 'will be

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa
• ripu (the enemy)
• śara (arrows)
• divasa (the day/time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights battlefield pragmatism: time is a decisive factor, so a warrior should act with urgency and tactical focus. It also shows how confidence and morale are cultivated through assurances of imminent victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses Karṇa, urging him to use concentrated arrow volleys to wound and hinder the enemy because only a small portion of the day remains; he predicts that by day’s end the Kauravas will secure victory.