Shloka 19

कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः

Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array

Devanagari script

कैतव्यानामधिप: शूरमानी रणे रणे शत्रुहा राजपुत्र:

Transliteration

kaitavyānām adhipaḥ śūramānī raṇe raṇe śatruhā rājaputraḥ

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Era señor de los arteros, orgulloso de su propio valor, y en batalla tras batalla, matador de enemigos: un hijo de rey.

Word by Word

• कैतव्यानाम्: of the deceitful (ones)
• कैतव्यानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कैतव्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अधिपः: lord, chief
• अधिपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधिप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शूरमानी: the foremost among heroes
• शूरमानी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूरमानी
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• रणे: in battle (again and again)
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शत्रुहा: slayer of enemies
• शत्रुहा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रुहन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजपुत्रः: king's son, prince
• राजपुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• rājaputra (a prince; unspecified in this pāda)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse juxtaposes battlefield excellence with the stain of deceit: it recognizes valor and repeated victory, yet signals that success gained through kaitava (guile) carries ethical weight. In the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, martial glory does not automatically equal dharmic greatness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing a prince as a formidable warrior—proud, repeatedly victorious, and an enemy-slayer—while characterizing him as a leader among the deceitful, foreshadowing or recalling the use of stratagems and morally questionable conduct amid the fighting.