Shloka 3

कृपकर्णसंवादः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Karṇa on Deśa-Kāla and Coordinated Strategy

Devanagari script

सर्व एव महात्मान: सर्वामित्रविनाशना: | राज्यमक्षै: पराकीर्य न श्रूयन्ते कथंचन,सम्पूर्ण शत्रुओंका नाश करनेवाले वे सभी महात्मा जूएद्वारा अपना राज्य हारकर कहाँ गये? जिससे कहीं किसी प्रकार भी उनके विषयमें कुछ सुननेमें नहीं आता?

Transliteration

sarva eva mahātmānaḥ sarvāmitra-vināśanāḥ | rājyam akṣaiḥ parākīrya na śrūyante kathaṃcana ||

Translation

Uttara berkata: “Semua wira agung yang berhati besar itu, pemusnah setiap musuh—setelah kehilangan kerajaan mereka kerana permainan dadu—ke manakah mereka pergi? Kerana tiada khabar tentang mereka didengar di mana-mana, walau dengan cara apa pun.”

Word by Word

सर्वेall

एवindeed/just

महात्मानःgreat-souled ones

सर्वामित्रविनाशनाःdestroyers of all enemies

राज्यम्kingdom

अक्षैःwith dice (by dice-play)

पराकीर्यhaving cast away/forfeited

नnot

श्रूयन्तेare heard (of)

कथंचनin any way/at all

Speaker

उत्तर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Uttara

the great-souled heroes (implied: the Pāṇḍavas)

dice (akṣa)

kingdom (rājya)

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 and political ruin caused by gambling: even mighty, righteous heroes can lose sovereignty through a single lapse, and public knowledge of them can vanish—showing how fragile worldly power and fame are when dharma is compromised by vice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Prince Uttara expresses disbelief and curiosity about the famed enemy-destroying heroes (implicitly the Pāṇḍavas): after losing their kingdom in the dice game, he wonders where they have gone, since no reliable news about them is heard.