Shloka 2

Jayadratha Approaches Draupadī in the Forest

Hospitality, Persuasion, and Reproach

Devanagari script

सेनाजीवैश्व कौरव्य तथा विषयवासिभि:

Transliteration

senājīvaiś ca kauravya tathā viṣayavāsibhiḥ

Translation

O Kauravya, the livelihood of the army and likewise that of the inhabitants of the realm depends upon this; therefore it must be managed with foresight, so that the king’s policy sustains both the fighting force and the people who dwell in the country.

Word by Word

• सेनाजीवैः: by/with the military-livers (soldiers/mercenaries)
• सेनाजीवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनाजीव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

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

• कौरव्य: O Kauravya (descendant of Kuru)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौरव्य
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तथा: likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• विषयवासिभिः: by/with the inhabitants of the districts/territories
• विषयवासिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषयवासी
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kauravya (a Kuru prince, addressee)
• Senā (army)
• Viṣaya (realm/territory)
• Viṣayavāsins (inhabitants of the realm)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Karna frames a rājadharma principle: a ruler’s decisions must sustain both the military establishment and the ordinary residents of the realm, since the stability of the state rests on the welfare and livelihood of both.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna addresses a Kuru prince (“Kauravya”) and points to the interconnected dependence between the army’s maintenance and the people living in the territory, setting up an argument about prudent governance and policy.