Shloka 25

Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत कर्णपर्वमें सुतमोम और शकुनिका युद्धविषयक पचीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,ततो<स्य नवतिं बाणान्‌ रुक्मपुड्खान्‌ सुतेजनान्‌

Transliteration

iti prakāraḥ śrīmahābhārate karṇaparvaṇi sutamoma-śakunīka-yuddha-viṣayakaḥ pañcaviṃśatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ | tato 'sya navatiṃ bāṇān rukmapuṅkhān sutejanān

Translation

Sañjaya reports that, in the Mahābhārata’s Karṇa Parva, the twenty-fifth chapter—concerning the battle involving Suta’s son and Śakuni—concludes here. Thereafter, he discharged ninety arrows, their shafts tipped with gold and sharpened to a keen edge, continuing the relentless momentum of war.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• अस्य: of him / to him (context-dependent)
• अस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• नवतिम्: ninety (as a count)
• नवतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नवति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• बाणान्: arrows
• बाणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• रुक्मपुङ्खान्: having golden feathers (fletching)
• रुक्मपुङ्खान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुक्म-पुङ्ख
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सुतेजनान्: very sharp / of excellent brilliance
• सुतेजनान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-तेजस्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• महाभारत (Mahābhārata)
• कर्णपर्व (Karṇa Parva)
• शकुनि (Śakuni)
• सूतमोम (Sutamoma / Suta’s son, as named in this edition’s colophon)
• बाण (arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions mainly as a structural marker: it closes a war-focused chapter and immediately returns to the action, underscoring how the epic frames violence within a narrated, accountable record—where deeds in battle are observed, reported, and morally consequential.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya signals the end of the twenty-fifth chapter (about a specific battle episode involving Sutamoma and Śakuni) and then describes the next moment of combat: a warrior releases ninety gold-adorned, razor-sharp arrows.