Shloka 23

Droṇa Encircled at Night: Coalition Advance and Battlefield Omens (द्रोणपर्यावरणं रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

आह कुन्ती नूनमार्या पापमद्य निदर्शनम्‌

Transliteration

āha kuntī nūnam āryā pāpam adya nidarśanam

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Kuntī, that noble lady, has indeed spoken today of sin as a warning example—calling attention to wrongdoing so that it may be recognized and avoided.”

Word by Word

• आह: said
• आह: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अह् (ब्रू/वद्-अर्थे)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), 3, singular, परस्मैपदम्

• कुन्ती: Kunti
• कुन्ती: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुन्ती
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• नूनम्: surely, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नूनम्

• आर्या: noble (lady)
• आर्या: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्य
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• पापम्: sin, evil
• पापम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

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

• निदर्शनम्: manifestation, evidence, example
• निदर्शनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निदर्शन
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kuntī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war and crisis, speech should serve dharma: naming wrongdoing as a clear example helps cultivate moral discernment and discourages repetition of harmful acts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Kuntī has spoken, characterizing a present act or situation as ‘sin’ and presenting it as a cautionary example—an ethical commentary within the unfolding battlefield narrative.