Shloka 12

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०

Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

पुत्राणां तस्य बालानां कुमाराणां यशस्विनाम्‌

Transliteration

putrāṇāṃ tasya bālānāṃ kumārāṇāṃ yaśasvinām

Translation

Санджая сказал: Он говорил о своих сыновьях — ещё юных, всего лишь княжичах, — но уже прославленных; их слава и обещание будущего стояли в горьком контрасте с беспощадными требованиями войны.

Word by Word

• पुत्राणाम्: of (the) sons
• पुत्राणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तस्य: of him / his
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• बालानाम्: of the young (ones)
• बालानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाल
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुमाराणाम्: of the princes / youths
• कुमाराणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमार
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• यशस्विनाम्: of the glorious / renowned
• यशस्विनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यशस्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the vulnerability of youth and the fragility of worldly glory: even the ‘illustrious’ young princes are not protected from the consequences of war, prompting reflection on responsibility and the human cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, refers to someone’s sons who are still young princes yet already famed—setting an emotional and evaluative frame for the surrounding account of battlefield events.