Shloka 90

Devanagari script

तेषु राजसहस्रेषु पाण्डवेयेषु मारिष | नैनं निरीक्षितुमपि कश्चिच्छक्नोति पार्थिव:,माननीय नरेश! पाण्डवपक्षके सहस्रों राजाओंमेंसे कोई भी भूपाल उस समय कर्णकी ओर आँख उठाकर देख भी नहीं सकता था

Transliteration

teṣu rāja-sahasreṣu pāṇḍaveyeṣu māriṣa | nainaṁ nirīkṣitum api kaścit śaknoti pārthivaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O venerable one, among those thousands of kings aligned with the Pāṇḍavas, not a single ruler at that moment had the strength even to raise his eyes and look toward Karṇa.”

Word by Word

तेषुamong those

राजसहस्रेषुamong the thousands of kings

पाण्डवेयेषुon the side of the Pandavas / belonging to the Pandavas

मारिषO venerable one (sir)

नnot

एनम्him

निरीक्षितुम्to look at / to behold

अपिeven

कश्चित्anyone

शक्नोतिis able

पार्थिवःa king / ruler

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Pāṇḍavas

Pāṇḍava-aligned kings

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how overwhelming martial prowess can psychologically subdue even great rulers; it implicitly contrasts external power (bala/tejas) with the inner steadiness expected in kṣatriya-dharma, showing how fear can eclipse duty on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the blind king Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid the battle, Karṇa’s presence and force were so formidable that none of the many kings fighting for the Pāṇḍavas could even look directly at him.