Shloka 17

Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana

The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint

Devanagari script

सुयोधनमिमं भग्नं हतसैन्यं हृदं गतम्‌ । पराजित वनप्रेप्सुं निराशं राज्यलम्भने

Transliteration

suyodhanam imaṁ bhagnaṁ hatasainyaṁ hṛdaṁ gatam | parājitaṁ vanaprepsuṁ nirāśaṁ rājyālambhane

Translation

Vāyu said: “This Suyodhana stands broken—his army destroyed, his spirit sunk within. Defeated, longing to flee to the forest, and bereft of hope of gaining the kingdom, he has reached a state of inner collapse.”

Word by Word

• सुयोधनम्: Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• सुयोधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुयोधन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इमम्: this
• इमम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• भग्नम्: broken, crushed
• भग्नम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भञ्ज्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, kta (past passive participle)

• हतसैन्यम्: whose army is slain
• हतसैन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हतसैन्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हृदम्: heart
• हृदम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गतम्: gone (to), entered
• गतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, kta (past active/participial sense: 'gone')

• पराजितम्: defeated
• पराजितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पराजि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, kta (past passive participle)

• वनप्रेप्सुम्: desiring the forest (to go to the forest)
• वनप्रेप्सुम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वनप्रेप्सु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, u (desiderative adjectival: 'desiring')

• निराशम्: hopeless, without expectation
• निराशम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निराश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• राज्यलम्भने: in obtaining the kingdom
• राज्यलम्भने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्यलम्भन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva
• Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• the Kaurava army
• the forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and psychological aftermath of unrighteous ambition: when power is pursued through adharma, defeat brings not only external loss (army, kingdom) but also inner ruin—hopelessness and the urge to flee rather than face responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva describes Suyodhana’s condition after catastrophic losses in the war: his forces are slain, he is defeated and mentally broken, and he no longer sees any prospect of securing the kingdom, even wishing to retreat into the forest.