Shloka 19

Devanagari script

एवं गते किंच मयाद्य शक्‍्यं कार्य कर्तु विग्रहे सूतजस्य

Transliteration

evaṁ gate kiṁ ca mayādya śakyaṁ kāryaṁ kartuṁ vigrahe sūtajasya

Translation

Jika keadaan sudah sampai begini, apa lagi yang dapat kulakukan hari ini dalam bentrokan melawan putra kusir itu? Tindakan efektif apa yang masih mungkin bagiku sekarang?

Word by Word

एवंthus, in this way

गतेwhen (it is) gone/when things have come to this pass

किंwhat?

चand

मयाby me

अद्यtoday, now

शक्यंpossible, feasible

कार्यंa deed to be done; what should be done

कर्तुंto do, to make

विग्रहेin conflict, in battle

सूतजस्यof the charioteer’s son (Karna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa (sūtaja)

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 human limitation in the face of an overwhelming situation: when events have reached a decisive turn, one may recognize that personal effort has little scope. It also reflects the psychological weight of confronting a formidable opponent (here, Karṇa), prompting humility and realism about what can be achieved.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, expresses that the situation has become such that he sees no effective action available to him in the conflict involving Karṇa, referred to pointedly as “the son of a charioteer” (sūtaja).