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

Ô Kauravya, la subsistance de l’armée, et de même celle des habitants du royaume, dépend de cela ; il faut donc l’administrer avec clairvoyance, afin que la politique du roi soutienne à la fois la force combattante et le peuple qui demeure au pays.

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.