Shloka 18

Devanagari script

मृदड़केतोस्तस्य त्वं तेजसा निहत: पुरा । सकर्णसौबल: संख्ये विनाशमुपयास्यसि,“जिन महाराज युधिष्ठिरमें दान, दम, शौच, अहिंसा, लज्जा, धृति और क्षमा आदि सारे सदगुण अविनश्वरभावसे सदा विद्यमान रहते हैं, अपनी ध्वजामें मृदंगका चिह्न धारण करनेवाले उन्हीं धर्मराजके तेजसे तुम पहले ही मर चुके हो। अत: कर्ण और शकुनिके साथ ही इस युद्धस्थलमें तुम विनाशको प्राप्त होओगे

Transliteration

mṛḍaṅketos tasya tvaṁ tejasā nihataḥ purā | sa-karṇa-saubalaḥ saṅkhye vināśam upayāsyasi ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “You have already been struck down before by the splendor of that Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira—he whose banner bears the emblem of a drum. Therefore, together with Karṇa and Śakuni, you will meet destruction on this battlefield.”

Word by Word

मृदङ्गकेतॊःof (the one) having a drum as his emblem (Mr̥daṅgaketu)

तस्यof him

त्वम्you

तेजसाby (his) splendor/power

निहतःslain/struck down

पुराformerly, earlier

सकर्णसौबलःtogether with Karṇa and Saubala (Śakuni)

संख्येin battle

विनाशम्destruction

उपयास्यसिyou will attain/meet (reach)

Speaker

सयजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja, mṛdaṅketa)

Karṇa

Śakuni (Saubala)

battlefield (saṅkhya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that moral-spiritual radiance (tejas) grounded in dharma can be decisive: those aligned with adharma are portrayed as already defeated in principle, and their eventual ruin in war is framed as the consequence of opposing righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya foretells to the addressed warrior that he is effectively already slain by Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharmic power, and predicts that he will perish in battle along with Karṇa and Śakuni.