Shloka 11

Devanagari script

ततो दुर्योधनो राजा हतबन्धू रणाजिरात्‌ । अपसृत्य हृदं घोरं विवेश रिपुजाद भयात्‌,तदनन्तर राजा दुर्योधन अपने भाइयोंके मारे जानेपर समरांगणसे दूर जाकर शत्रुके भयसे भयंकर तालाबमें घुस गया

Transliteration

tato duryodhano rājā hatabandhū raṇājirāt | apasṛtya hṛdaṃ ghoraṃ viveśa ripujād bhayāt ||

Translation

Então o rei Duryodhana, com seus parentes e irmãos já mortos no campo de batalha, retirou-se da peleja. Dominado pelo medo do inimigo, entrou num lago terrível—não como prova de valor, mas como recuo desesperado diante do colapso moral e marcial de sua causa.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

राजाking

हतबन्धुःwhose kinsmen were slain

रणाजिरात्from the battlefield

अपसृत्यhaving withdrawn, having retreated

हृदम्lake, pond

घोरम्terrible, dreadful

विवेशentered

रिपुजात्from the enemy-born (i.e., from the enemy)

भयात्from fear, out of fear

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

battlefield (raṇājira)

dreadful lake (hṛda)

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 how fear and the loss of one’s supporting kin can drive a ruler into ignoble flight. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such retreat signals the unraveling of adharma-based power: when inner steadiness and righteous grounding are absent, kingship collapses into panic and concealment.

What is happening in the narrative?

After many of his brothers/kinsmen have been killed, Duryodhana leaves the battlefield and, fearing the enemy, hides by entering a terrifying lake. This sets the stage for subsequent events in which he is sought out and confronted.