Shloka 19

Devanagari script

उच्छिष्टदर्पित: काको बहूनां दूरपातिनाम्‌ । तेषां यं प्रवरं मेने हंसानां दूरपातिनाम्‌

Transliteration

ucchiṣṭadarpitaḥ kāko bahūnāṁ dūrapātinām | teṣāṁ yaṁ pravaraṁ mene haṁsānāṁ dūrapātinām ||

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಉಚ್ಛಿಷ್ಟವನ್ನು ತಿಂದು ದರ್ಪದಿಂದ ಉಬ್ಬಿದ ಆ ಕಾಗೆ, ದೂರ ಹಾರುವ ಅನೇಕ ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಸೇರಿತು; ಮತ್ತು ಆ ದೂರಪಾತಿ ಹಂಸಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರನ್ನು ಅದು ಪ್ರಧಾನನೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿತೋ, ಅವನನ್ನೇ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನೆಂದು ಎಣಿಸಿತು.

Word by Word

उच्छिष्टदर्पितःpuffed up with arrogance (from leftovers)

काकःcrow

बहूनाम्of many

दूरपातिनाम्of far-flying (ones)

तेषाम्of them

यम्whom

प्रवरम्the best, foremost

मेनेthought/considered

हंसानाम्of swans

दूरपातिनाम्of far-flying (ones)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

crow (kāka)

swans (haṁsa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns against arrogance born of trivial or borrowed advantage: a person of lesser capacity may become conceited after small gains and then misjudge themselves among the truly excellent. Real superiority is proven by intrinsic merit, sustained discipline, and tested capability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya employs a metaphor: a crow, emboldened by feeding on leftovers, enters the company of far-flying birds and imagines itself the foremost among them—especially among swans. The image functions as a moral comparison within the war narrative, criticizing inflated self-estimation.