Shloka 5

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच श्र॒त्वा द्रुपदपुत्रस्य ता वाच: क्रुरकर्मण:,सबाष्पमतिनि:श्वस्य धिग्‌ धिगित्येव चाब्रवीत्‌ । संजयने कहा--प्रजानाथ! क्रूरकर्मा ट्रुपदपुत्रकी वे बातें सुनकर वहाँ बैठे हुए सभी नरेश मौन रह गये। केवल अर्जुन टेढ़ी नजरोंसे उसकी ओर देखकर आँसू बहाते हुए दीर्घ निःश्वास ले इतना ही बोले कि--'धिक्कार है! धिक्कार है!!”

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | śrutvā drupadaputrasya tā vācaḥ krūrakarmaṇaḥ, sabāṣpamatiniḥśvāsya dhig dhig ity eva cābravīt |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Hearing those words of Drupada’s son—whose deeds were cruel—Arjuna, his mind overwhelmed and his eyes filled with tears, heaved a long, heavy sigh and uttered only this: “Shame! Shame!”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'śrutvā': 'having heard', 'drupada-putrasya': 'of Drupada’s son (Dṛṣṭadyumna)', 'tāḥ vācaḥ': 'those words

• that speech', 'krūra-karmaṇaḥ': 'of one whose actions are cruel

• cruel-doer', 'sa-bāṣpa': 'with tears

• tearful', 'mati': 'mind

• inner disposition', 'niḥśvāsya': 'having sighed

• breathing out deeply', 'dhik dhik': 'shame! fie! an exclamation of moral revulsion', 'eva': 'only

• indeed', 'cābravīt (ca + abravīt)': 'and said

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Drupada
• Drupada’s son (Dṛṣṭadyumna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical recoil in the midst of war: even in a battlefield context, certain words or actions are felt to cross a moral boundary, prompting a spontaneous condemnation (“dhik dhik”). Arjuna’s tears and sigh show that dharma is not merely strategic duty but also an inner moral sensibility that can be wounded by cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that after hearing the harsh speech of Drupada’s son (Dṛṣṭadyumna), Arjuna reacts emotionally—tearful and deeply sighing—and can only utter a brief denunciation, “Shame! Shame!”, indicating strong disapproval of the cruelty implied by that speech.