Shloka 563

Devanagari script

सेनापतिं प्रणेतारं किमकुर्वत मामका: । धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--संजय! भीष्म और द्रोणाचार्यके वधका तथा युद्ध-संचालक सेनापति सूतपुत्र कर्णके विनाशका समाचार सुनकर मेरे पुत्रोंने क्या किया?

Transliteration

senāpatiṃ praṇetāraṃ kim akurvata māmakāḥ |

Translation

ਧ੍ਰਿਤਰਾਸ਼ਟਰ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ—ਸੰਜਯ! ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਅਤੇ ਦ੍ਰੋਣਾਚਾਰਯ ਦੇ ਵਧ ਦੀ, ਅਤੇ ਯੁੱਧ ਦੇ ਸੰਚਾਲਕ ਸੈਨਾਪਤੀ ਸੂਤਪੁੱਤਰ ਕਰਨ ਦੇ ਵਿਨਾਸ਼ ਦੀ ਖ਼ਬਰ ਸੁਣ ਕੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਪੁੱਤਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ?

Word by Word

• सेनापतिम्: the commander (of the army)
• सेनापतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनापति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रणेतारम्: the leader/guide
• प्रणेतारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रणेतृ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अकुर्वत: did
• अकुर्वत: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मामकाः: my people (i.e., my sons/party)
• मामकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मामक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Droṇācārya
• Karṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the collapse of worldly reliance on power and leadership: when principal protectors and commanders fall, those attached to victory and lineage confront fear, grief, and moral reckoning—suggesting that adharma-driven ambition is unstable and ultimately self-defeating.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narration frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious inquiry to Sañjaya: after receiving news of the deaths of Bhīṣma and Droṇa and the destruction of Karṇa—who had become the Kaurava commander and war-director—he asks what his sons (the Kauravas) did next.