Shloka 176

Devanagari script

खेदितो द्रोणकर्णाभ्यां दौःशासनिवशं गत: । “लाखों राजाओंके समूहोंको मारकर द्रोण और कर्णके साथ युद्ध करते-करते जब वह बहुत थक गया, उस समय दु:शासनके पुत्रके द्वारा मारा गया

Transliteration

khedito droṇakarṇābhyāṃ dauḥśāsanivaśaṃ gataḥ |

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— അനേകം രാജസമൂഹങ്ങളെ വധിച്ച്, ദ്രോണനും കർണനും കൂടെ ദീർഘകാലം യുദ്ധം ചെയ്തു ചെയ്തു അവൻ അത്യന്തം ക്ഷീണിച്ചപ്പോൾ, ദുഃശാസനന്റെ പുത്രന്റെ അധീനതയിൽ വീണു; അവന്റെ കൈയ്യാൽ തന്നെ ഹതനായി.

Word by Word

खेदितःwearied, exhausted

द्रोणकर्णाभ्याम्by/with Drona and Karna

दौःशासनिवशम्into the control/power of the son of Duhshasana

गतःhaving gone, having fallen into

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Droṇa

Karṇa

Duḥśāsana

Duḥśāsana’s son

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 vulnerability of even the strongest warriors: sustained violence and relentless struggle lead to exhaustion, and in that weakened state one can be overcome. Ethically, it points to the tragic cost of war—victory and defeat often hinge not only on virtue or skill but on fatigue, circumstance, and the cumulative burden of killing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that a warrior, after fighting Droṇa and Karṇa and slaughtering many kings, becomes extremely fatigued and consequently falls under the power of Duḥśāsana’s son, who kills him (as indicated by the accompanying narrative sense).