Shloka 38

Devanagari script

द्यौरासीत्‌ सूतपुत्रस्य पक्षे मातेव धिष्ठिता

Transliteration

dyaur āsīt sūtaputrasya pakṣe māteva dhiṣṭhitā

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະກ່າວວ່າ: ຟ້າເອງກໍຄືຈະຢືນຢູ່ຂ້າງລູກຊາວສາຣະຖີ (ກັນນະ) ດັ່ງແມ່ຜູ້ຢືນຢ່າງໝັ້ນຄົງເພື່ອປົກປ້ອງລູກ—ຊີ້ວ່າແມ່ນແຕ່ທາດທັງຫຼາຍກໍຄືຈະເອົາໃຈເຂົາໃນຂະນະນັ້ນ.

Word by Word

द्यौःthe sky

आसीत्was

सूतपुत्रस्यof the charioteer’s son (Karna)

पक्षेon the side

माताa mother

इवas if / like

अधिष्ठिताstood over / presided (supportively)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karna (Sūtaputra)

Dyauḥ (the sky/heaven)

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 how, in epic war narrative, perceived cosmic or elemental support is used to convey a warrior’s momentary ascendancy and the moral-emotional force behind it—here, Karṇa’s side is portrayed as receiving protective, almost maternal backing from the heavens, underscoring the theme that human struggle is often framed against a larger, fate-tinged cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield situation in which Karṇa’s position appears extraordinarily favored: even the sky is depicted as taking his side, standing firm like a mother protecting her child—an image that intensifies the sense of Karṇa’s power and the ominous grandeur of the conflict.