Shloka 21
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
Devanagari script
त्वां च मूढाकृतप्रज्ममतिमानिनमाहवे
Transliteration
tvāṃ ca mūḍhākṛtaprajñāmatimāninam āhave
Translation
ਅਤੇ ਤੂੰ ਵੀ—ਜੰਗ ਦੇ ਮੈਦਾਨ ਵਿੱਚ—ਅਸਲ ਵਿੱਚ ਬੇਵਿਵੇਕ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਵੀ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਢੋਂਗ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲਾ ਅਤੇ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਫੂਲਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ।
Word by Word
त्वाम्you
त्वाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootयुष्मद्
Form—, Accusative, Singular
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्one whose understanding is made dull/confused
मूढाकृतप्रज्ञम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootमूढाकृतप्रज्ञ
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
मतिमानिनम्one who prides himself on (his) intellect
मतिमानिनम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमतिमानिन्
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
आहवेin battle
आहवे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootआहव
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns the combination of delusion and arrogance: pretending to possess wisdom while lacking true discernment leads to ethical collapse, especially in the high-stakes setting of war.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reports a battlefield utterance in which someone is denounced as ‘deluded yet posing as wise’ and ‘excessively proud’—a sharp moral characterization amid the conflict.