Shloka 21

Devanagari script

इसीलिये श्रीकृष्ण जिनके सारथि हैं, वे श्वेतवाहन अर्जुन द्रोणाचार्यको लाँच गये। यही कारण है कि मैं इसमें ट्रोणाचार्यका दोष नहीं देख रहा हूँ

Transliteration

tasmāt śrīkṛṣṇa-sārathayoḥ śvetavāhano 'rjunaḥ droṇācāryaṃ lañghayām āsa | etad eva kāraṇaṃ yato 'haṃ droṇācārye doṣaṃ na paśyāmi ||

Translation

Therefore Arjuna, the white-bannered warrior whose charioteer is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, was able to overpass and outmaneuver Droṇācārya. For this very reason, I do not perceive any fault in Droṇa.

Word by Word

इसीलियेtherefore/for this reason

श्रीकृष्णःSri Krishna

यस्यwhose

सारथिःcharioteer

सःhe/that (one)

श्वेतवाहनःhaving white steeds/white-charioted

अर्जुनःArjuna

द्रोणाचार्यम्Dronacharya

अलाञ्छयत्struck/marked (with a weapon/shaft)

यत्which/that (fact)

कारणम्reason/cause

अस्तिis

येनby which/for which reason

अहम्I

अत्रhere/in this matter

द्रोणाचार्यस्यof Dronacharya

दोषम्fault/blame

नnot

पश्यामिI see

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Sri Krishna

Arjuna

Dronacharya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karna argues that blame should be assigned carefully: when an extraordinary advantage—here, Kṛṣṇa’s guidance—decisively shapes events, it is unjust to fault a dutiful commander like Droṇa for being outmaneuvered.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the battle context of Droṇa Parva, Karna explains that Arjuna managed to break past Droṇa’s defenses because Kṛṣṇa drove and guided him; hence Karna refuses to interpret Droṇa’s being surpassed as a moral or strategic failing.