Shloka 21
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
Devanagari script
त्वां च मूढाकृतप्रज्ममतिमानिनमाहवे
Transliteration
tvāṃ ca mūḍhākṛtaprajñāmatimāninam āhave
Translation
और तुम भी—रणभूमि में—जो वास्तव में विवेकहीन होकर भी बुद्धिमान होने का ढोंग करते हो और आत्म-अहंकार से फूले हुए हो।
Word by Word
त्वाम्you
त्वाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootयुष्मद्
Form—, Accusative, Singular
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्one whose understanding is made dull/confused
मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootमूढाकृतप्रज्ञ
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
मतिमानिनम्one who prides himself on (his) intellect
मतिमानिनम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमतिमानिन्
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
आहवेin battle
आहवे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootआहव
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns the combination of delusion and arrogance: pretending to possess wisdom while lacking true discernment leads to ethical collapse, especially in the high-stakes setting of war.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reports a battlefield utterance in which someone is denounced as ‘deluded yet posing as wise’ and ‘excessively proud’—a sharp moral characterization amid the conflict.