Shloka 17

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच एवमुक्त्वा तत: कर्ण चक्रे सेनापतिं तदा । तव पुत्रो महावीर्यों भ्रातृभि: सहितोडनघ,संजय कहते हैं--निष्पाप नरेश! ऐसा कहकर आपके महापराक्रमी पुत्र दुर्योधनने अपने भाइयोंके साथ मिलकर कर्णको सेनापति बनाया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca evam uktvā tataḥ karṇaṃ cakre senāpatiṃ tadā | tava putro mahāvīryo bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito 'nagha ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Setelah berkata demikian, putramu yang sangat perkasa—bersama saudara-saudaranya—lalu mengangkat Karṇa sebagai panglima bala tentara, wahai raja yang tak bercela.

Word by Word

संजयःSanjaya

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus

उक्त्वाhaving said

ततःthen/thereafter

कर्णम्Karna

चक्रेmade/appointed

सेनापतिम्commander of the army

तदाat that time

तवyour

पुत्रःson

महावीर्यःof great valor

भ्रातृभिःwith (his) brothers

सहितःaccompanied/along with

अनघO sinless one

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Duryodhana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Kaurava brothers

senāpati (commander of the army)

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 how authority in war is conferred through deliberate choice and alliance: Duryodhana consolidates command by appointing Karṇa, showing the ethical tension between loyalty to one’s patron and the larger demands of dharma in a fratricidal conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

After a preceding statement (evam uktvā), Duryodhana, together with his brothers, formally appoints Karṇa as senāpati (army commander). Sañjaya reports this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, marking a key shift in Kaurava leadership during the war.