Shloka 10
तान् पश्यन् सैन्यमध्यस्थो राजा स्वजनसंवृत: । दुर्योधनो<ब्रवीत् कर्ण प्रहृष्ट: प्रहसन्निव,सेनाके बीचमें खड़े हो स्वजनोंसे घिरे हुए राजा दुर्योधनने पाण्डव-सैनिकोंकी ओर देखते हुए अत्यन्त प्रसन्न होकर कर्णसे हँसते हुए-से कहा
tān paśyan sainyamadhyastho rājā svajanasaṃvṛtaḥ | duryodhano 'bravīt karṇa prahṛṣṭaḥ prahasan iva ||
Sañjaya said: Standing in the midst of his army and surrounded by his own men, King Duryodhana, gazing at the Pāṇḍava forces, spoke to Karṇa—highly elated, as though laughing. The scene underscores the war’s moral tension: confidence and mockery spring from attachment to one’s side, even as the battlefield demands sober discernment of duty and consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how exhilaration and ridicule can arise from factional attachment in war. Ethically, it cautions that confidence untempered by humility and discernment may obscure dharma and the gravity of violence, even for a king responsible for many lives.
Sañjaya narrates that Duryodhana, positioned amid his troops and encircled by allies, looks toward the Pāṇḍava forces and, in a buoyant, almost laughing manner, addresses Karṇa—setting up the ensuing speech and strategic/psychological posture before battle actions unfold.