Shloka 52

द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ८७: सात्यकेरनुयात्रा

Sātyaki’s resolve and departure to reach Arjuna

Devanagari script

तात! गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनका महान्‌ अपकार करके मेरे पुत्र युद्धमें उनके पराक्रमको कभी नहीं सह सकेंगे ।। किन्नु दुर्योधन: कृत्यं कर्ण: कृत्यं किमब्रवीत्‌ । दुःशासन: सौबलश्न तेषामेवं गतेष्वपि,उस समय उनकी ऐसी अवस्था होनेपर भी दुर्योधनने कौन-सा कर्तव्य निश्चित किया? कर्ण, दुःशासन तथा शकुनिने क्या करनेकी सलाह दी?

Transliteration

tāta! gāṇḍīvadhārī arjunasya mahān apakāraṃ kṛtvā mama putrā yuddhe tasya parākramaṃ kadācana na sahiṣyanti. kintu duryodhanaḥ kṛtyaṃ kim abravīt? karṇaḥ kṛtyaṃ kim abravīt? duḥśāsanaḥ saubalaś ca teṣām evaṃ gateṣv api kiṃ kartavyam ity abruvan?

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “My son, having grievously wronged Arjuna, the bearer of the Gāṇḍīva, my sons will never be able to endure his prowess in battle. Even so, when matters had come to such a pass, what course of duty did Duryodhana decide upon? What did Karṇa propose as the proper action? And what counsel did Duḥśāsana and Śakuni (son of Subala) give—what did they say should be done?”

Word by Word

• {'tāta': 'dear son

• affectionate address', 'gāṇḍīvadhārī': 'bearer of the bow Gāṇḍīva (epithet of Arjuna)', 'arjuna': 'Arjuna, Pāṇḍava hero', 'mahān': 'great, severe', 'apakāra': 'harm, wrongdoing, injury', 'kṛtvā': 'having done', 'mama putrāḥ': 'my sons (the Kauravas)', 'yuddhe': 'in battle', 'parākrama': 'prowess, heroic might', 'kadācana': 'ever, at any time', 'na sahiṣyanti': 'will not be able to endure/tolerate', 'kintu': 'but, however', 'kṛtyam': 'what ought to be done

• proper course of action', 'kim abravīt': 'what did (he) say?', 'duḥśāsana': 'Duḥśāsana, Kaurava prince', 'saubalaḥ': 'Śakuni, son of Subala', 'teṣām evaṃ gateṣv api': 'even when their situation had become thus (even in such a state)', 'kartavyam': 'what should be done

• obligation', 'abruvan': 'they said (plural)'}

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Arjuna
• Gāṇḍīva
• Duryodhana
• Karṇa
• Duḥśāsana
• Śakuni (Saubala)
• Kauravas (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Wrongdoing (apakāra) creates consequences that cannot be escaped by mere strategy: Dhṛtarāṣṭra recognizes that having injured Arjuna, the Kauravas now face an opponent whose righteous wrath and prowess they cannot easily withstand, raising the ethical question of what ‘kṛtya’ (right action) remains when one’s choices have already violated dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anxious about the battlefield situation, reflects on the Kauravas’ past offense against Arjuna and doubts their ability to bear his might. He then asks Sañjaya (implicitly) what decisions and advice were given by Duryodhana, Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, and Śakuni regarding what should be done despite their worsening condition.