Shloka 17
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा स्त्रीणां च आर्तनादः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and the Lament of the Palace Women
संजय उवाच एवमुक्त्वा तत: कर्ण चक्रे सेनापतिं तदा । तव पुत्रो महावीर्यों भ्रातृभि: सहितोडनघ,संजय कहते हैं--निष्पाप नरेश! ऐसा कहकर आपके महापराक्रमी पुत्र दुर्योधनने अपने भाइयोंके साथ मिलकर कर्णको सेनापति बनाया
sañjaya uvāca evam uktvā tataḥ karṇaṃ cakre senāpatiṃ tadā | tava putro mahāvīryo bhrātṛbhiḥ sahito 'nagha ||
സഞ്ജയന് പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ നിർദോഷ രാജാവേ! ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞ ശേഷം, നിന്റെ മഹാവീര്യനായ പുത്രൻ സഹോദരന്മാരോടുകൂടെ അപ്പോൾ കര്ണനെ സേനാപതിയായി നിയമിച്ചു.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how authority in war is conferred through deliberate choice and alliance: Duryodhana consolidates command by appointing Karṇa, showing the ethical tension between loyalty to one’s patron and the larger demands of dharma in a fratricidal conflict.
After a preceding statement (evam uktvā), Duryodhana, together with his brothers, formally appoints Karṇa as senāpati (army commander). Sañjaya reports this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, marking a key shift in Kaurava leadership during the war.