Shloka 15

Devanagari script

'पुरुषसिंह! ऐसी अवस्थामें तुम पुरुषार्थका भरोसा करके क्षत्रिय-धर्मको सामने रखते हुए अर्जुनपर चढ़ाई करो ।।

Transliteration

puruṣasiṁha! etādṛśyāṁ daśāyāṁ tvaṁ puruṣārtha-bharosā kṛtvā kṣatriya-dharmaṁ puraskṛtyārjunam abhyārohaya. bhāro hi dhārtarāṣṭreṇa tvayi sarvaḥ samāhitaḥ; tam udgṛhya mahābāho yathāśakti yathābalam.

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O lion among men, in such a crisis, relying on your own manly effort and placing the warrior’s duty foremost, advance against Arjuna. For Duryodhana, son of Dhritarashtra, has entrusted the entire burden to you; therefore, O mighty-armed one, take up that burden and bear it according to your strength and power.”

Word by Word

• {'puruṣasiṁha': '‘lion among men’

• an epithet for a foremost hero', 'daśā': 'condition, situation, crisis', 'puruṣārtha': 'human effort/initiative

• personal exertion and resolve', 'bharosā (bharoṣā)': 'reliance, confidence (Hindi rendering of Sanskrit sense)', 'kṣatriya-dharma': 'the duty/ethos of a warrior: courage, protection, steadfastness in battle', 'puraskṛtya (puraskṛta)': 'placing in front

• keeping as the guiding principle', 'abhyārohaya / abhyārohati': 'to advance upon, charge, attack', 'bhāra': 'burden, responsibility, the weight of the campaign', 'dhārtarāṣṭra': 'descendant/son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• here Duryodhana', 'samāhita': 'placed upon, entrusted, concentrated/collected', 'udgṛhya (udgṛhṇīhi)': 'take up, lift, assume (a burden)', 'mahābāho': '‘mighty-armed’

• epithet for a powerful warrior', 'yathāśakti': 'according to one’s capacity', 'yathābalam': 'according to one’s strength'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Duryodhana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames battlefield action as an ethical obligation: a kṣatriya must act with courage and resolve, accepting responsibility proportionate to one’s strength. It emphasizes personal effort (puruṣārtha) and accountability when leadership entrusts a decisive burden.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an exhortation directed to a leading warrior (contextually Karṇa): Duryodhana has placed the campaign’s decisive responsibility upon him, so he is urged to uphold kṣatriya-dharma and charge Arjuna, bearing the entrusted burden to the best of his power.