Shloka 25

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 109 — Karṇa–Bhīma Yuddha and Durmukha’s Fall (कर्णभीमयुद्धम्; दुर्मुखवधः)

Devanagari script

हताश्चृं तु रथं त्यक्त्वा दुर्मुखो विमनास्तदा । आरुरोह रथं राजन्‌ निरमित्रस्थ भारत

Transliteration

hatāś ca tu rathaṃ tyaktvā durmukho vimanās tadā | ārurōha rathaṃ rājan niramitrastha bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Durmukha, his spirit broken, abandoned his own chariot and, downcast at that moment, mounted another chariot, O King—finding himself in a position where no friendly support remained. The line underscores how, amid the moral and physical collapse of battle, a warrior’s confidence and alliances can suddenly fail, leaving him isolated even while the war-machine continues to move him forward.

Word by Word

हतःslain / struck down

चand

तुbut

रथम्chariot

त्यक्त्वाhaving abandoned

दुर्मुखःDurmukha (proper name)

विमनाःdejected, dispirited

तदाthen

आरुरोहmounted, climbed onto

रथम्chariot

राजन्O king

निरमित्रस्थःstanding among the enemy-less / in a place free of foes (i.e., safe)

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Durmukha

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan'/'bhārata')

chariot

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes