Shloka 4

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्र बोले--तात संजय! कर्ण, दुर्योधन और सुबलपुत्र शकुनिका तथा विशेषतः तुम्हारा इस विषयमें महान्‌ अन्याय है। यदि तुम लोग जानते थे कि यह शक्ति रणभूमिमें सदा किसी एक ही वीरको मार सकती है तथा इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता भी न तो इसे रोक सकते हैं और न इसका आघात ही सह सकते हैं, तब तुम्हारे सुझानेसे युद्ध आरम्भ होनेपर कर्णने पहले ही देवकीनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण अथवा अर्जुनपर वह शक्ति क्‍यों नहीं छोड़ी? ।। १-- ३ ।। संजय उवाच संग्रामाद्‌ विनिवृत्तानां सर्वेषां नो विशाम्पते । रात्रौ कुरुकुलश्रेष्ठ मन्त्रोड<यं समजायत,संजयने कहा--प्रजानाथ! कुरुकुलश्रेष्ठ! प्रतिदिन संग्रामसे लौटनेपर रात्रिमें हमलोगोंकी यही सलाह हुआ करती थी कि “कर्ण! तुम कल सबेरा होते ही श्रीकृष्ण अथवा अर्जुनपर यह शक्ति चला देना'

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | saṅgrāmād vinivṛttānāṁ sarveṣāṁ no viśāmpate | rātrau kurukulaśreṣṭha mantro 'yaṁ samajāyata |

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O lord of the people, O best of the Kuru line! Each night, when all of us had returned from the day’s battle, this was the counsel that arose among us: ‘Karna, at dawn tomorrow, unleash that infallible missile upon Krishna or upon Arjuna.’”

Word by Word

संजयO Sañjaya

उवाचsaid

संग्रामात्from battle

विनिवृत्तानाम्of those who had returned

सर्वेषाम्of all

नःof us / our

विशाम्of the people (subjects)

पतेO lord

रात्रौat night

कुरुकुलश्रेष्ठO best of the Kuru clan

मन्त्रःcounsel / plan

अयम्this

समजायतarose / came about

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Kuru dynasty (Kurukula)

Karna

Krishna

Arjuna

the śakti weapon (missile)

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?

Even in war, choices about when and on whom to deploy an irresistible weapon carry moral weight: strategy driven by fear and expediency can deepen injustice, while hesitation or misdirected use of power can decisively shape outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after returning from each day’s fighting, the Kaurava side repeatedly formed the same plan at night—urging Karna to use his single-use śakti missile at dawn against Krishna or Arjuna.