Shloka 19

Devanagari script

निद्रान्धा नो बुबुधिरे काज्चिच्चेष्टां नराधिप

Transliteration

nidrāndhā no bubudhire kāścic ceṣṭāṁ narādhipa

Translation

Sañjaya said: Blinded by sleep, our men did not awaken to any movement at all, O king—so the danger went unnoticed and no timely response arose.

Word by Word

• निद्रान्धाः: sleep-blinded, stupefied by sleep
• निद्रान्धाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निद्रान्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नः: of us / our
• नः: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Plural

• बुबुधिरे: they perceived, they became aware
• Type: Verb
• Root: बुध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• काञ्चित्: any (some) (f.)
• काञ्चित्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• चेष्टाम्: movement, activity, action
• चेष्टाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चेष्टा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नराधिप: O king (lord of men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address narādhipa)
• Kauravas (implied by naḥ, 'our men')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and practical necessity of vigilance: when leaders and troops lapse into negligence (here, sleep-induced unawareness), even small signs of danger are missed, leading to preventable harm. In a broader dharmic sense, it warns against pramāda (carelessness) as a root of downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that their side, overcome by sleep, failed to notice any stir or movement. The line sets up how an event in the night (or an unexpected action) could proceed without immediate detection or resistance.