Shloka 9

Devanagari script

सदृशाक्षस्तव कथं शत्रुभिर्निहतो रणे । दुर्मरं बत वार्ष्णेय काले<प्राप्ते नृभि: सह

Transliteration

sadṛśākṣas tava kathaṁ śatrubhir nihato raṇe | durmaraṁ bata vārṣṇeya kāle prāpte nṛbhiḥ saha ||

Translation

ನಿನ್ನ ಮಗ ಸದೃಶಾಕ್ಷನು ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಶತ್ರುಗಳಿಂದ ಹೇಗೆ ಹತನಾದನು? ಅಯ್ಯೋ, ಹೇ ವಾರ್ಷ್ಣೇಯ! ಕಾಲ ಬಂದಾಗ ದುರ್ಮರನೂ ತನ್ನ ಜನರೊಡನೆ ಅಂತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದುತ್ತಾನೆ।

Word by Word

सदृशाक्षःone having similar eyes (handsome-eyed)

तवof you / your

कथम्how

शत्रुभिःby enemies

निहतःslain / killed

रणेin battle

दुर्मरम्hard to die (invincible)

बतalas / indeed

वार्ष्णेयO descendant of Vृष्णि (Krishna)

कालेwhen the time

अप्राप्तेhad not arrived

नृभिःby men

सहtogether with

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sadṛśākṣa

Vārṣṇeya

śatravaḥ (enemies)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical reflection that even the most formidable warrior is not beyond death when Kāla (the destined time) arrives; human prowess is limited, and outcomes in war are ultimately subject to fate and the moral order that frames mortality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports a death in battle: Sadṛśākṣa, described as difficult to overcome, has been killed by enemies. The speaker addresses a “Vārṣṇeya,” lamenting that with the arrival of the appointed time, Sadṛśākṣa fell along with his men.