Shloka 463

Devanagari script

कर्णद्रोणौ रणे पूर्व हन्तव्याविति मे मति: । “यदि पाण्डवोंके लिये अपने शत्रुका वध करना न्याय-संगत है, तो युद्धभूमिमें सबसे पहले कर्ण और द्रोणाचार्यको ही मार डालना चाहिये; मेरा तो यही मत है

Transliteration

karṇa-droṇau raṇe pūrvaṁ hantavyāv iti me matiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «À mon jugement, si l’on tient pour juste que les Pāṇḍava abattent leur ennemi pour la cause qu’ils servent, alors, sur le champ de bataille, les premiers à être frappés doivent être Karṇa et Droṇa. Tel est mon avis mûrement pesé.»

Word by Word

कर्णद्रोणौKarna and Drona

रणेin battle

पूर्वम्first, beforehand

हन्तव्यौto be slain / should be killed

इतिthus (quotative)

मेmy / of me

मतिःopinion, view

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Pāṇḍavas

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 frames a ‘just-war’ ethical claim: if killing is accepted as dharmically permissible for a rightful aim, then priority should be given to eliminating the most decisive and dangerous opponents. It highlights how moral justification in war is often paired with strategic necessity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an evaluative judgment about battlefield priorities: he states that, assuming the Pāṇḍavas are justified in slaying enemies, the foremost targets should be Karṇa and Droṇa—key pillars of the Kaurava war effort.