Shloka 33

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनार्थे तव च प्रियार्थ यशोडर्थमात्मार्थमपीश्वरार्थम्‌

Transliteration

duryodhanārthe tava ca priyārthaṃ yaśodārtham ātmārtham apīśvarārtham

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະກ່າວວ່າ: «ເພື່ອເຫດຂອງທຸຣະໂຍທະນະ ແລະເພື່ອຈຸດປະສົງອັນເປັນທີ່ຮັກຂອງເຈົ້າ; ເພື່ອກຽດຊື່ສຽງ, ເພື່ອຜົນປະໂຫຍດຂອງຕົນ, ແລະແມ່ນແຕ່ເພື່ອພຣະເຈົ້າ—(ການກະທຳນີ້ຈຶ່ງຖືກກະທຳ)».

Word by Word

दुर्योधनार्थेfor Duryodhana's sake / in Duryodhana's interest

तवof you / your

चand

प्रियार्थेfor (someone's) beloved's sake / for what is dear

यशोऽर्थम्for fame

उदर्थम्for the sake of rising/prosperity (ud-artha)

आत्मार्थम्for one's own sake

अपिalso / even

ईश्वरार्थम्for the Lord's sake / for God

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that human actions—especially in war—often arise from mixed motives: loyalty, personal attachment, desire for fame, self-benefit, and even appeals to divine purpose. Ethically, it cautions that invoking ‘higher’ reasons does not automatically purify underlying self-serving aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, characterizes the driving purposes behind the Kaurava effort—centering Duryodhana and the king’s own attachments—while also noting the pursuit of glory and self-interest, and the tendency to frame the struggle as aligned with a higher will.