Shloka 90

Devanagari script

अद्य पापस्य तद्‌ वाक्‍्यं सुवर्णविकृता: शरा:

Transliteration

adya pāpasya tad vākyaṃ suvarṇavikṛtāḥ śarāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Hari ini, ucapan si pendosa itu—dan anak-anak panah yang ditempa serta dihias dengan emas—mulai menampakkan akibatnya yang mengerikan di medan laga.”

Word by Word

• अद्य: today; now
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य

• पापस्य: of the sinful one / of sin
• पापस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• वाक्यम्: speech; statement; word
• वाक्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• सुवर्ण-विकृताः: made/modified with gold; gold-adorned
• सुवर्ण-विकृताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुवर्ण + विकृत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शराः: arrows
• शराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• पाप (a sinful/wicked person, unspecified)
• शर (arrows)
• सुवर्ण (gold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse hints at moral causality in war: boastful or harmful speech (vākya) and the instruments of violence (arrows) are not ethically neutral—when driven by pāpa (wicked intent), they lead to grim consequences and retribution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, points to a moment where a ‘sinful’ warrior’s words and the gold-adorned arrows are foregrounded—suggesting a decisive, ominous turn in the fighting tied to that person’s intent and actions.