Shloka 16

Devanagari script

आचार्य ये च ते5रक्षन्‌ दुर्योधनपुरोगमा: । द्रौणिकर्णकृपास्तात ते वाकुर्वन्‌ किमाहवे,तात! अभश्वत्थामा, कर्ण, कृपाचार्य तथा दुर्योधन आदि जो महारथी रणभूमिमें आचार्य द्रोणकी रक्षा करते थे, उन्होंने वहाँ क्या किया?

Transliteration

ācārya ye ca te 'rakṣan duryodhana-purogamāḥ | drauṇi-karṇa-kṛpās tāta te vākurvan kim āhave, tāta ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Mon cher, ces guerriers qui protégeaient le Maître—menés par Duryodhana, à savoir Aśvatthāmā, Karṇa et Kṛpa—qu’ont-ils fait là, dans la bataille ? Quelle riposte, quel acte ont-ils accompli sur le champ ?»

Word by Word

आचार्यम्the teacher (Drona)

येwho

चand

तेthey

अरक्षन्protected

दुर्योधनपुरोगमाःhaving Duryodhana in front / led by Duryodhana

द्रौणिDrauni (Ashvatthaman, son of Drona)

कर्णKarna

कृपाःKripas (Kripa and/or those of Kripa’s side; here: Kripa)

तातO dear one / O son

तेthey

वाindeed / or

अकुर्वन्did

किम्what

आहवेin battle

तातO dear one

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Droṇa (ācārya)

Duryodhana

Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi)

Karṇa

Kṛpa (Kṛpācārya)

battlefield (āhava)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between loyalty to one’s leader/teacher and the larger demands of dharma in war. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question underscores how protective duty and allegiance shape battlefield conduct, especially when a revered preceptor is at the center of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report what the Kaurava champions—led by Duryodhana and including Aśvatthāmā, Karṇa, and Kṛpa—did on the battlefield while guarding Droṇa. It is a request for a detailed account of their actions and reactions in the ongoing combat.