Shloka 40

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

दुर्मुखश्न॒ द्वादशभी राजन्‌ विव्याध सात्यकिम्‌ | दुर्योधनस्त्रिसप्तत्या विद्ूध्वा भारत माधवम्‌

Transliteration

Durmukhaś ca dvādaśabhir, rājan, vivyādha Sātyakim | Duryodhanas tri-saptatyā viddhvā Bhārata Mādhavam ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—రాజా, దుర్ముఖుడు పన్నెండు బాణాలతో సాత్యకిని గాయపరిచెను; మరియు ఓ భారతవంశజా, దుర్యోధనుడు డెబ్బైమూడు శరాలతో మాధవుని విద్ధ చేసి, దృఢ సంకల్పంతో యుద్ధాన్ని మరింత ఉద్ధృతం చేసెను।

Word by Word

दुर्मुखःDurmukha (a warrior named 'evil-faced')

द्वादशभिःwith twelve (arrows)

राजन्O king

विव्याधpierced, struck

सात्यकिम्Sātyaki

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

त्रिसप्तत्याwith seventy (arrows)

विव्याधpierced, struck

भारतO Bhārata (descendant of Bharata)

माधवम्Mādhava (Krishna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

ध

धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

द

दुर्मुख (Durmukha)

स

सात्यकि (Sātyaki)

द

दुर्योधन (Duryodhana)

म

माधव / कृष्ण (Mādhava / Kṛṣṇa)

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 underscores the escalating intensity of war and the kṣatriya arena where prowess is measured by force and endurance; ethically, it highlights how conflict draws even revered figures into violence, reminding the listener (the king) of the grave momentum unleashed by adharma-driven rivalry.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports battlefield events: Durmukha wounds Sātyaki with twelve arrows, and Duryodhana then strikes Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa) with seventy-three arrows, indicating a fierce exchange and the Kauravas’ aggressive push in that moment.