Shloka 40

Devanagari script

द्रौणिर्दुर्योधनश्वैव विकर्णश्ष॒ तवात्मज:

Transliteration

drauṇir duryodhanaś caiva vikarṇaś ca tava ātmajaḥ

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—ద్రోణపుత్రుడు అశ్వత్థామ, దుర్యోధనుడు, అలాగే నీ కుమారుడు వికర్ణుడును (అక్కడ) ఉన్నారు.

Word by Word

द्रौणिःDrona's son (Ashvatthama)

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

चand

एवindeed/also

विकर्णःVikarna

तवyour

आत्मजःson

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Aśvatthāman (Drauṇi)

Droṇa

Duryodhana

Vikarṇa

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'tava')

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?

Even in a battlefield catalogue, the verse points to ethical accountability: those who lead and those bound by family ties share responsibility for the war’s consequences. Naming key figures reminds the listener that power, loyalty, and kinship do not exempt one from dharmic judgment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listing prominent Kaurava-side figures—Aśvatthāman, Duryodhana, and Vikarṇa (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son)—as part of the forces/participants being described in the Bhīṣma Parva war narrative.