Shloka 33

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनार्थे तव च प्रियार्थ यशोडर्थमात्मार्थमपीश्वरार्थम्‌

Transliteration

duryodhanārthe tava ca priyārthaṃ yaśodārtham ātmārtham apīśvarārtham

Translation

Sañjaya said: “For Duryodhana’s cause, and for your own dear purpose; for the sake of fame, for one’s own interest, and even for the sake of the Lord—(this deed is undertaken).”

Word by Word

• दुर्योधनार्थे: for Duryodhana's sake / in Duryodhana's interest
• दुर्योधनार्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तव: of you / your
• तव: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• प्रियार्थे: for (someone's) beloved's sake / for what is dear
• प्रियार्थे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रिय + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• यशोऽर्थम्: for fame
• यशोऽर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यशस् + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उदर्थम्: for the sake of rising/prosperity (ud-artha)
• उदर्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद् + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आत्मार्थम्: for one's own sake
• आत्मार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अपि: also / even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• ईश्वरार्थम्: for the Lord's sake / for God
• ईश्वरार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ईश्वर + अर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duryodhana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that human actions—especially in war—often arise from mixed motives: loyalty, personal attachment, desire for fame, self-benefit, and even appeals to divine purpose. Ethically, it cautions that invoking ‘higher’ reasons does not automatically purify underlying self-serving aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, characterizes the driving purposes behind the Kaurava effort—centering Duryodhana and the king’s own attachments—while also noting the pursuit of glory and self-interest, and the tendency to frame the struggle as aligned with a higher will.