Shloka 263

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

ततो नृपतयो वीरा: स्थास्यन्ति मम शासने । “अकेला कर्ण ही मेरे साथ रहकर समस्त पाण्डवोंको मार डालेगा। फिर सारे वीर नरेश मेरी आज्ञाके अधीन हो जायँगे

Transliteration

tato nṛpatayo vīrāḥ sthāsyanti mama śāsane |

Translation

मग ते वीर नरेश माझ्या आज्ञेत उभे राहतील. (तो मनात म्हणतो:) ‘कर्ण एकटाच माझ्या बाजूला राहून सर्व पांडवांचा वध करील; त्यानंतर सर्व वीर राजे माझ्या अधिकारात येतील.’

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

नृपतयःkings

वीराःvaliant (ones)

स्थास्यन्तिwill stand / will remain

ममof me, my

शासनेin (my) rule/command

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Karna

Pandavas

kings (nṛpati)

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 ethical danger of overconfidence and power-lust: imagining that victory and universal submission will follow from reliance on a single champion. It implicitly contrasts political ambition with the uncertainty of dharma and fate in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana voices his expectation that Karna, staying with him, will single-handedly destroy the Pāṇḍavas; once they fall, the allied kings will submit to Duryodhana’s rule.