Shloka 173

Devanagari script

मृत्योरुपान्तिकं प्राप्तौ माद्रीपुत्रौ सम मेनिरे । आपके पुत्रका वह पराक्रम देखकर सब महारथी ऐसा मानने लगे कि माद्रीके दोनों पुत्र मृत्युके निकट पहुँच गये

Transliteration

mṛtyor upāntikaṃ prāptau mādrīputrau sama menire |

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ನಿನ್ನ ಪುತ್ರನ ಆ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಹಾರಥರೂ ಮಾದ್ರಿಯ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಪುತ್ರರು ಮರಣದ ಅಂಚಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದು ಭಾವಿಸಿದರು।

Word by Word

मृत्योःof death / from death (as point of reference)

उपान्तिकम्nearness, vicinity

प्राप्तौhaving reached / having come (to)

माद्रीपुत्रौthe two sons of Madri (Nakula and Sahadeva)

सम्together; completely; indeed (intensifier)

मेनिरेthey thought; they considered

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

your son (Duryodhana, as addressed to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)

Mādrī

Nakula

Sahadeva

mahārathas (great chariot-warriors)

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 highlights the moral tension of battlefield glory: extraordinary prowess can be admired, yet its immediate measure is the capacity to drive others toward death. It invites reflection on how kṣatriya valor operates within dharma while still producing grave human cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after witnessing the might of the king’s son, the assembled elite warriors judged that Mādrī’s two sons—Nakula and Sahadeva—were pushed to the brink of death.