Shloka 15

Droṇācāryaḥ Senāpatiḥ

Droṇa Appointed Commander-in-Chief

Devanagari script

युगपन्न तु ते शक्‍या: कर्तु सर्वे पुर:सरा: । एक एव तु कर्तव्यो यस्मिन्‌ वैशेषिका गुणा:

Transliteration

yugapanna tu te śakyāḥ kartuṁ sarve puraḥsarāḥ | eka eva tu kartavyo yasmin vaiśeṣikā guṇāḥ ||

Translation

కానీ వారందరినీ ఒకేసారి నాయకులుగా నియమించడం సాధ్యం కాదు; అందువల్ల విశిష్ట గుణాలు ఎవరిలో ఉన్నాయో అతనినే ఒక్కరిని ఎన్నుకోవాలి.

Word by Word

• युगपत्: simultaneously
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: युगपत्
• Form: Avyaya (indeclinable adverb)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: Avyaya (negation)

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु
• Form: Avyaya (particle)

• ते: for you/your
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Masculine/Feminine/Neuter, Genitive singular (enclitic)

• शक्याः: possible/able (to be done)
• शक्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative plural

• कर्तुम्: to do
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Tumun (infinitive): 'to do/make'

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

• पुरःसराः: leaders/foremost ones
• पुरःसराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरःसर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative plural

• एकः: one
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative singular

• एव: only/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव
• Form: Avyaya (emphasis)

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु
• Form: Avyaya (particle)

• कर्तव्यः: to be done/should be made (to be chosen)
• कर्तव्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्तव्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative singular

• यस्मिन्: in whom/in which
• यस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative singular

• वैशेषिकाः: distinctive/special
• वैशेषिकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वैशेषिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative plural

• गुणाः: qualities/virtues
• गुणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative plural

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Karna
• leaders (puraḥsarāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Effective leadership requires clear selection: instead of distributing authority among many at once, choose a single person distinguished by exceptional qualities (guṇas).

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna offers counsel in a wartime context, arguing that multiple foremost men should not be made leaders simultaneously; one commander should be appointed based on outstanding merits.