Shloka 28

कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief

Devanagari script

वार्द्धक्षेमिर्महाराज समुद्र इव पर्वणि

Transliteration

vārddhakṣemir mahārāja samudra iva parvaṇi

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Maharaja, Vārddhakṣemi mengembang bagaikan samudra pada saat pasang purnama.”

Word by Word

• वार्द्धक्षेमिः: Vārddhakṣemi (proper name)
• वार्द्धक्षेमिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वार्द्धक्षेमिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• समुद्रः: the ocean
• समुद्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• पर्वणि: at the time of the full/new moon (on the lunar day of change)
• पर्वणि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• Vārddhakṣemi
• Ocean (samudra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a natural image—an ocean swelling at the lunar tide—to convey how power, confidence, or martial momentum can suddenly rise; it implicitly cautions that such surges are cyclical and not permanent, urging discernment amid war’s changing conditions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Vārddhakṣemi’s strength or presence became markedly greater, likened to the ocean’s swelling on a parvan (tide-time), indicating a notable escalation in the battlefield situation.