Shloka 18

Devanagari script

पुत्रान्‌ पितृन्‌ सखीन्‌ भ्रातृन्‌ समारोप्य दृढक्षतान्‌

Transliteration

putrān pitṝn sakhīn bhrātṝn samāropya dṛḍhakṣatān

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Having mounted (upon the pyre) sons, fathers, friends, and brothers—those bearing grievous wounds—…”

Word by Word

• पुत्रान्: sons
• पुत्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पितॄन्: fathers/forefathers
• पितॄन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सखीन्: friends
• सखीन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सखि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• भ्रातॄन्: brothers
• भ्रातॄन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समारोप्य: having mounted/placed (upon)
• समारोप्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-रुह्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage as gerund), Non-finite

• दृढक्षतान्: firmly wounded; having severe wounds
• दृढक्षतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दृढक्षत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• sons
• fathers/forefathers
• friends
• brothers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line foregrounds the ethical weight of war: victory is inseparable from the suffering and death of one’s own kin and companions, pressing the listener to confront responsibility, grief, and the moral cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira evokes a scene of the aftermath of battle—wounded or slain relatives and allies being placed upon a pile/pyre—using stark kinship terms to emphasize the scale of loss and the sorrow that follows combat.