Shloka 4

Droṇācāryaḥ Senāpatiḥ

Droṇa Appointed Commander-in-Chief

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत द्रोणाभिषेकपर्वमें कर्णका आश्वायनविषयक चौथा अध्याय पूरा हुआ,ते सम सर्वे तव वच: श्रोतुकामा नरेश्वर । नान्याय्यं हि भवान्‌ वाक्यं ब्रूयादिति मतिर्मम अतः नरेश्वर! हम सब लोग तुम्हारी ही बात सुनना चाहते हैं। मेरा विश्वास है कि तुम कोई ऐसी बात नहीं कहोगे, जो न्‍्यायसंगत न हो

Transliteration

te sama sarve tava vacaḥ śrotukāmā nareśvara | nānyāyyaṁ hi bhavān vākyaṁ brūyād iti matir mama | ataḥ nareśvara! (iti sañjaya uvāca)

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O king, all of us alike are eager to hear your words. For I am convinced that you would not utter any statement that is unjust or contrary to right conduct. Therefore, O lord of men, speak.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'te', 'definition': 'they

• those (people)'}, {'term': 'sama', 'definition': 'equally

• with the same intent'}, {'term': 'sarve', 'definition': 'all'}, {'term': 'tava', 'definition': 'your'}, {'term': 'vacaḥ', 'definition': 'words

• statement'}, {'term': 'śrotukāmāḥ', 'definition': 'desirous of hearing

• eager to listen'}, {'term': 'nareśvara', 'definition': 'king

• lord of men'}, {'term': 'na', 'definition': 'not'}, {'term': 'anyāyyam', 'definition': 'unjust

• not in accordance with nyāya (right reasoning/justice)'}, {'term': 'hi', 'definition': 'indeed

• for'}, {'term': 'bhavān', 'definition': 'you (honorific)'}, {'term': 'vākyam', 'definition': 'speech

• proposition'}, {'term': 'brūyāt', 'definition': 'would say

• should say (optative nuance)'}, {'term': 'iti', 'definition': 'thus

• ‘that’ (quotative particle)'}, {'term': 'matiḥ', 'definition': 'thought

• opinion'}, {'term': 'mama', 'definition': 'my'}, {'term': 'ataḥ', 'definition': 'therefore

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Nareśvara (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical speech (vāṅ-nīti): a ruler’s words should align with nyāya (justice/right reasoning). Trust in a king’s commitment to dharma becomes the basis for open inquiry and counsel.

What is happening in the narrative?

Within the frame dialogue, Sanjaya addresses the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), stating that everyone is eager to hear him and expressing confidence that the king will not speak unjustly—thereby inviting him to speak further.