Shloka 16

द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake

Devanagari script

तेषु राजसहस्रेषु तावकेषु महात्मसु । एको दुर्योधनो राजन्नदृश्यत भुशं क्षत:,राजन! आपके दलके उन सहस्रों महामनस्वी राजाओंमें एकमात्र दुर्योधन ही उस समय दिखायी देता था; परंतु वह भी बहुत घायल हो चुका था

Transliteration

teṣu rāja-sahasreṣu tāvakeṣu mahātmasu | eko duryodhano rājann adṛśyata bhṛśaṃ kṣataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Among those thousands of high-souled kings on your side, O King, only Duryodhana was then to be seen—and even he was grievously wounded.” The line underscores the moral desolation of war: power and numbers collapse into solitude, and the leader who pursued victory at any cost is left visible chiefly through the mark of suffering.

Word by Word

तेषुamong those

राजसहस्रेषुamong thousands of kings

तावकेषुon your side / belonging to you

महात्मसुamong the great-souled (ones)

एकःalone / only one

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

राजन्O king

अदृश्यतwas seen / appeared

भृशम्greatly / exceedingly

क्षतःwounded

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Duryodhana

Kaurava kings (collective)

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 ethical cost of war and unchecked ambition: even vast armies and many allies can end in isolation, and the pursuit of dominance culminates in visible suffering rather than glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that among the many Kaurava kings, only Duryodhana is seen at that moment, and he is severely wounded—signaling the near-collapse of the Kaurava force and Duryodhana’s desperate condition.