Shloka 17

शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्

Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनश्न तान्‌ वीरान्‌ वारयामास सान्त्वयन्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | duryodhanaś ca tān vīrān vārayāmāsa sāntvayan |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Duryodhana, seeking to steady their resolve, tried to restrain those warriors and pacify them with conciliatory words—an attempt to hold the army together through persuasion rather than letting anger or rashness dictate action.

Word by Word

• दुर्योधनः: Duryodhana
• दुर्योधनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तान्: those
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• वीरान्: heroes, warriors
• वीरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• वारयामास: restrained, held back, stopped
• वारयामास: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: वारय् (√वृ/वार् caus.)
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic Perfect), Third, Singular

• सान्त्वयन्: conciliating, soothing, consoling
• सान्त्वयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सान्त्वय् (caus. of √सान्त्व/सान्त्व्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, शतृ (Present Active Participle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• दुर्योधन (Duryodhana)
• वीराः (the warriors/heroes)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, leadership is shown not only through aggression but through restraint and calming speech; preventing impulsive action can be an ethical necessity when anger threatens to override judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana intervenes to stop certain warriors from acting rashly, attempting to soothe and steady them with conciliatory words so the Kaurava side remains controlled and coordinated.