Shloka 32

धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa

Devanagari script

यस्य कर्मानुजीवन्ति लोके सर्वधनुर्भुतः

Transliteration

yasya karmānujīvanti loke sarva-dhanur-bhṛtaḥ

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “He whose deeds sustain the lives and livelihoods of all bow-bearing warriors in the world.” The line points to a figure whose personal prowess and professional conduct become the very support-system of the martial community—suggesting how, in a war-bound society, one exemplary kṣatriya’s karma can uphold (or endanger) the ethical and practical order of those who live by arms.

Word by Word

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• कर्म: deed; action
• कर्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनुजीवन्ति: live by; subsist on; follow as livelihood
• अनुजीवन्ति: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-जीव्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सर्वधनुर्भृतः: all bow-bearers; all archers
• सर्वधनुर्भृतः: Karta
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: सर्व-धनुर्भृत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• sarva-dhanur-bhṛtaḥ (all bow-bearing warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how a single eminent warrior’s karma—skill, discipline, and adherence to duty—can become the sustaining foundation for an entire martial community, implying ethical responsibility proportional to one’s influence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is speaking and characterizing a prominent figure (implicitly someone central to the war’s conduct) as one whose actions are so consequential that all archers/warriors are said to subsist upon them—either through protection, patronage, or the standard he sets.