Shloka 66

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

तामाधिरथिरायस्त: शक्ति काउ्चनभूषणाम्‌

Transliteration

tām ādhirathir āyastaḥ śaktiṃ kāñcanabhūṣaṇām

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Adhirathi’s son (Karna), fully prepared, took up that spear adorned with gold—readying a decisive weapon amid the moral darkness of the battlefield, where prowess and fate press against the demands of dharma.

Word by Word

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आधिरथिः: Ādhirathi (Karna)
• आधिरथिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आधिरथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अरायस्तः: from the enemy
• अरायस्तः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• शक्तिम्: spear, lance (weapon)
• शक्तिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• काञ्चनभूषणाम्: adorned with gold ornaments
• काञ्चनभूषणाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चनभूषणा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa (Ādhirathi)
• Śakti (spear)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights readiness and resolve in war, while implicitly raising the ethical tension of using extraordinary weapons: power and preparation do not automatically align with dharma, and the consequences of martial choices unfold within a larger moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, identified by the epithet ‘Ādhirathi’ (son of Adhirathi), readies and takes up a gold-adorned spear (śakti), signaling an imminent, high-stakes strike in the battle sequence.