Shloka 11

Droṇa’s Defensive Stand and Abhimanyu Commissioned to Breach the Cakravyūha (द्रोणानीक-प्रतिरोधः; सौभद्र-नियोजनम्)

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट उवाच अभिमन्युमहं सूत सौभद्रमपराजितम्‌ । श्रोतुमिच्छामि कार्त्स्येन कथमायोधने हत:,धृतराष्ट्र बोले--सूत! मैं किसीसे भी पराजित न होनेवाले सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्युके विषयमें सारा वृत्तान्त सुनना चाहता हूँ। वह युद्धमें कैसे मारा गया?

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | abhimanyum ahaṃ sūta saubhadram aparājitam | śrotum icchāmi kārtsnyena katham āyodhane hataḥ ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O Sūta, I wish to hear in full the entire account concerning Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadrā—unconquered by any. How was he slain in battle?”

Word by Word

धृतराष्ट्रःDhṛtarāṣṭra

उवाचsaid

अभिमन्युम्Abhimanyu

अहम्I

सूतO charioteer (Sañjaya)

सौभद्रम्son of Subhadrā

अपराजितम्unconquered, undefeated

श्रोतुम्to hear

इच्छामिI wish/desire

कार्त्स्येनcompletely, in full (in entirety)

कथम्how

आयोधनेin battle

हतःwas slain

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Sūta (Saṃjaya as narrator)

Abhimanyu

Subhadrā

battlefield (āyodhana)

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 frames a dharmic-ethical inquiry: even an ‘unconquered’ hero can be brought down by the complex forces of war, strategy, and collective action, prompting reflection on the moral conditions under which a warrior is slain and how outcomes in battle relate to righteousness and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses the narrator (Sūta/Saṃjaya) and requests a complete account of Abhimanyu—Subhadrā’s son—asking specifically how he was killed in the fighting, setting up the detailed narration of the circumstances of Abhimanyu’s death.