Shloka 17

Devanagari script

त्रैलोक्ये यस्य चास्त्रेषु न पुमान्‌ विद्यते सम: । त॑ द्रोणं निहत॑ श्रुत्वा किमकुर्वत मामका:,तीनों लोकोंमें दूसरा कोई पुरुष जिनके समान अस्त्रवेत्ता नहीं है, उन द्रोणाचार्यको मारा गया सुनकर मेरे पुत्रोंने क्या किया?

Transliteration

trailokye yasya cāstreṣu na pumān vidyate samaḥ | taṁ droṇaṁ nihataṁ śrutvā kim akurvata māmakāḥ ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “In all the three worlds there is no man equal to him in the science of weapons. Hearing that Droṇa had been slain, what did my sons do then?”

Word by Word

त्रैलोक्येin the three worlds

यस्यof whom/whose

चand

अस्त्रेषुin weapons (martial science)

नnot

पुमान्a man

विद्यतेis found/exists

समःequal

तम्him/that (one)

द्रोणम्Drona

निहतम्slain

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

किम्what

अकुर्वतdid

मामकाःmy people (my sons/party)

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

the three worlds (trailokya)

the Kauravas (māmakāḥ)

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 the moral shock of war: even the most unrivaled master of arms can fall, forcing leaders to confront impermanence, the limits of power, and the ethical weight of continuing a conflict after revered elders are destroyed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing that Droṇa—considered unmatched in weapon-lore across the three worlds—has been killed, anxiously asks Sañjaya what his sons (the Kauravas) did in response to this devastating news on the battlefield.