Shloka 24

Devanagari script

अद्य सौख्य॑ तु राजेन्द्र कुरुराजस्य दुर्मते:

Transliteration

adya saukhyaṁ tu rājendra kururājasya durmateḥ

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O best of kings, today the misguided lord of the Kurus has (only) a fleeting ‘comfort’—a grim, ironic respite amid the ruin brought on by his own wrong judgment.”

Word by Word

• अद्य: today
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• सौख्यम्: happiness, comfort
• सौख्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौख्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तु: but, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु
• Form: अव्यय (निपात)

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• कुरुराजस्य: of the Kuru king
• कुरुराजस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुराज
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• दुर्मतेः: of the evil-minded one
• दुर्मतेः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्मति
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Rājendra (addressed king, i.e., Dhritarashtra)
• Kuru king (Duryodhana implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Misguided judgment (durmati) in leadership yields only hollow, short-lived ‘comfort’ and culminates in suffering; ethical discernment and right counsel are essential for a king.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra, characterizing the Kuru ruler (implicitly Duryodhana) as durmati and noting that whatever ‘happiness’ he has today is ironic and transient in the midst of the war’s devastation.