Shloka 13

Aśvatthāman’s Arrow-Screen and the Confrontation with Yudhiṣṭhira (द्रौणि–युधिष्ठिर-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

पितृष्वसामातुलजौ भ्रातरावपराजितौ

Transliteration

pitṛṣvasāmātulajau bhrātarāv aparājitau

Translation

Karna said: “The two brothers—born of my paternal aunt and my maternal uncle—stand unconquered.”

Word by Word

• पितृष्वसामातुलजौ: the paternal-aunt’s son and the maternal-uncle’s son (two cousins)
• पितृष्वसामातुलजौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृष्वसा + मातुलजा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• भ्रातरौ: two brothers
• भ्रातरौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रातृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अपराजितौ: unconquered; undefeated
• अपराजितौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपराजित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• two brothers (unspecified in this half-verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, kinship and lineage remain morally significant; the verse highlights how familial bonds and social relations (aunt/uncle connections) continue to shape honor, loyalty, and the ethical weight of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna is speaking and refers to two brothers connected to him through extended family ties (paternal-aunt and maternal-uncle relations), describing them as still undefeated—an observation that frames the battlefield situation through the lens of kinship.