Shloka 37

Devanagari script

अथ शूरो महेष्वास: पार्थेनाजी निपातित: । अहं त्वज्ञासिषं पश्चात्‌ स्वसोदर्य द्विजोत्तम,द्विजश्रेष्ठ। तदनन्तर युद्धस्थलमें महाधनुर्धर शूरवीर कर्ण अर्जुनके हाथसे मारे गये। प्रभो! मुझे तो माता कुन्तीके ही कहनेसे बहुत पीछे यह बात मालूम हुई है कि “कर्ण हमारे ज्येष्ठ एवं सहोदर भाई थे।'” मैंने भाई की हत्या करायी है; इसलिये मेरे हृदयको तीव्र वेदना हो रही है

Transliteration

atha śūro maheṣvāsaḥ pārthenājau nipātitaḥ | ahaṁ tv ajñāsiṣaṁ paścāt svasodarya dvijottama ||

Translation

अथ शूरो महेष्वासः पार्थेनाजौ निपातितः। अहं त्वज्ञासिषं पश्चात् स्वसोदर्य द्विजोत्तम॥

Word by Word

अथthen/now

शूरःthe hero/warrior

महा-इष्वासःgreat bowman (having great bow)

पार्थेनby Partha (Arjuna)

अजौin battle

निपातितःfelled/slain

अहम्I

तुbut/indeed

अज्ञासिषम्I came to know

पश्चात्afterwards/later

स्वसोदर्यO uterine brother (born of the same mother)

द्विजोत्तमO best of the twice-born

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Arjuna (Pārtha)

Karna

Kuntī

Dvijottama (addressed brāhmaṇa interlocutor)

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 the ethical weight of actions done in ignorance and the painful consequences of delayed truth. Even when war-deeds align with kṣatriya duty, the revelation of kinship transforms victory into moral anguish, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s insistence that dharma is complex and emotionally costly.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the war, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects that Karṇa—slain by Arjuna in battle—was later revealed by their mother Kuntī to be their eldest full brother. Yudhiṣṭhira laments that he effectively caused his own brother’s death and is overwhelmed by grief and remorse.