Shloka 5

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः

Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

सर्व एव महाराज तावका दीनचेतस:

Transliteration

sarva eva mahārāja tāvakā dīnacetasaḥ

Translation

सर्व एव महाराज तावका दीनचेतसः ।

Word by Word

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तावकाः: your men/your side
• तावकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दीनचेतसः: dejected-minded
• दीनचेतसः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीनचेतस्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kauravas (tāvakāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and psychological cost of unrighteous conflict: when one’s cause is shaken or one’s actions weigh on the conscience, even a powerful host can become inwardly defeated through dejection and loss of resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces—“your men”—have become dispirited, indicating a downturn in morale amid the unfolding events of the Kurukṣetra war.