Shloka 256

Devanagari script

प्राणान्‌ श्रियं च राज्यं च त्यक्त्वा शेष्यति भूतले । “कुरुराज शान्तनुके कुलका यह जीता-जागता कलंक आज अपने प्राण, लक्ष्मी तथा राज्यको छोड़कर सदाके लिये पृथ्वीपर सो जायगा

Transliteration

prāṇān śriyaṃ ca rājyaṃ ca tyaktvā śeṣyati bhūtale |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Having abandoned his very life, his prosperity, and his kingdom, he will lie upon the earth.” The line underscores the moral collapse of royal pride in war: sovereignty and fortune prove transient, and the end of adharma-driven ambition is death and dishonor on the battlefield.

Word by Word

• प्राणान्: lives, vital breaths
• प्राणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• श्रियम्: fortune, prosperity
• श्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• राज्यम्: kingdom, sovereignty
• राज्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज्
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा), Active

• शेष्यति: will lie down, will sleep
• Type: Verb
• Root: शी
• Form: Future (लृट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भूतले: on the ground, on the earth's surface
• भूतले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूतल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• prāṇa (life)
• śrī (prosperity/Lakṣmī)
• rājya (kingdom)
• bhūtala (earth/ground)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly power—life, wealth, and sovereignty—is fragile. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, war driven by adharma and pride ends in the loss of everything, reducing even a ruler to lying on the bare earth.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, foretells or reports the downfall of a royal figure: he will relinquish life, prosperity, and kingship and be left slain or laid low on the battlefield ground.