Shloka 4

Devanagari script

दुःशासन उवाच दुःखेनैतत्‌ समानीतं स्थविरों नाशयत्यसौ । शत्रुसाद्‌ गमयद्‌ द्रव्यं तद्‌ बुध्यध्वं महारथा:

Transliteration

Duḥśāsana uvāca: duḥkhenaitat samānītaṃ sthaviro nāśayaty asau | śatrusād gamayad dravyaṃ tad budhyadhvaṃ mahārathāḥ ||

Translation

ドゥフシャーサナは言った。「大車戦士たちよ！この財は我らが大いなる苦労の末に集めたものだというのに、あの老いた者は今それを浪費している。彼は富のすべてを敵の支配下へ渡してしまった—よく心得よ。」

Word by Word

• दुःशासनः: Duhshasana
• दुःशासनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःशासन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• दुःखेन: with difficulty / painfully
• दुःखेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• समानीतम्: brought/obtained (collected)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-नी
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• स्थविरः: the old man
• स्थविरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थविर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नाशयति: destroys
• Type: Verb
• Root: नश् (णिच्)
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• असौ: that man (he)
• असौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (प्रदर्शक सर्वनाम)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शत्रुषु: among/under the enemies
• शत्रुषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• आत्: towards/into (as preverb element in sandhi)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)

• गमयत्: causing to go / handing over
• गमयत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम् (णिच्)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• द्रव्यम्: wealth/property
• द्रव्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रव्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that (fact/thing)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• बुध्यध्वम्: understand/know (you all)
• Type: Verb
• Root: बुध्
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Plural, Atmanepada

• महारथाः: O great chariot-warriors
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

Speaker

दुःशासन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duḥśāsana
• the elder/old man (sthaviraḥ; implied Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• enemies (śatru)
• wealth/property (dravya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment to wealth and factional hostility distort judgment: Duḥśāsana frames an elder’s conciliatory or redistributive action as ‘ruin,’ revealing the ethical danger of seeing peace-making as weakness and treating shared resources as instruments of rivalry.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duḥśāsana addresses the assembled great warriors, complaining that the family elder is wasting wealth that the Kauravas obtained with difficulty and has effectively handed it over to their enemies, urging the warriors to recognize and respond to this situation.