Shloka 20

कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line

Devanagari script

मन्दर: पर्वतश्नाक्षो जड्घा तस्य महानदी

Transliteration

Mandaraḥ parvataśnākṣo jaḍghā tasya mahānadī.

Translation

Duryodhana berkata: “Mandara ialah bahunya yang laksana gunung; pahanya ialah sungai yang maha besar.” Dalam suasana perang ini, penutur menggunakan citra alam yang agung untuk membesarkan kekuatan jasmani seorang pahlawan, menjadikan tubuh manusia seolah-olah lanskap kuasa—suatu peringatan etika bahawa bahasa perang sering memuliakan tenaga dan keperkasaan tubuh demi menyalakan keyakinan dan kesetiaan.

Word by Word

• मन्दरः: Mandara (mountain)
• मन्दरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्दर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर्वत-श्नाक्षः: one whose eyes are mountains (mountain-eyed)
• पर्वत-श्नाक्षः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वतश्नाक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जङ्घा: shin/leg
• जङ्घा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जङ्घा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• तस्य: of him/of that
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महानदी: great river
• महानदी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानदी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• दुर्योधन (Duryodhana)
• मन्दर (Mandara mountain)
• पर्वत (mountain)
• महानदी (great river)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse illustrates how epic war rhetoric elevates a warrior by comparing his body to immense natural forms (mountain, river), showing the persuasive power of praise in sustaining morale and allegiance—while also hinting at the ethical tension of glorifying sheer strength in a destructive conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana is describing (and extolling) a warrior’s formidable physique through metaphors: a shoulder like the Mandara mountain and a thigh like a great river, as part of a broader effort to inspire confidence in battle.