Shloka 28

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya

Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance

Devanagari script

ततो युधिष्ठटिरो राजा कुपितो राजसत्तम

Transliteration

tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā kupito rājasattama

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then King Yudhiṣṭhira, angered, addressed the foremost of kings—showing that even a ruler devoted to dharma can be stirred by the pressures and provocations of war.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• कुपितः: angered
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुपित
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular (past passive participle from √कुप्)

• राजसत्तम: O best of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजसत्तम
• Form: Masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a ruler committed to dharma can be provoked into anger in the crucible of war; the epic highlights how ethical leadership is tested when grief, urgency, and battlefield pressures intensify.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira becomes angry and begins to address a figure called 'rājasattama' (“best of kings”), marking a transition into a charged exchange within the Drona Parva war narrative.