Shloka 11

शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam

Devanagari script

ततो दुर्योधनो राजा हतबन्धू रणाजिरात्‌ । अपसृत्य हृदं घोरं विवेश रिपुजाद भयात्‌,तदनन्तर राजा दुर्योधन अपने भाइयोंके मारे जानेपर समरांगणसे दूर जाकर शत्रुके भयसे भयंकर तालाबमें घुस गया

Transliteration

tato duryodhano rājā hatabandhū raṇājirāt | apasṛtya hṛdaṃ ghoraṃ viveśa ripujād bhayāt ||

Translation

అప్పుడు రాజు దుర్యోధనుడు, తన బంధువులు మరియు సోదరులు హతులైనందున, యుద్ధభూమి నుండి వెనుదిరిగాడు. శత్రుభయంతో కలవరపడి అతడు ఒక భయంకరమైన సరస్సులో ప్రవేశించాడు.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

राजाking

हतबन्धुःwhose kinsmen were slain

रणाजिरात्from the battlefield

अपसृत्यhaving withdrawn, having retreated

हृदम्lake, pond

घोरम्terrible, dreadful

विवेशentered

रिपुजात्from the enemy-born (i.e., from the enemy)

भयात्from fear, out of fear

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

battlefield (raṇājira)

dreadful lake (hṛda)

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 how fear and the loss of one’s supporting kin can drive a ruler into ignoble flight. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such retreat signals the unraveling of adharma-based power: when inner steadiness and righteous grounding are absent, kingship collapses into panic and concealment.

What is happening in the narrative?

After many of his brothers/kinsmen have been killed, Duryodhana leaves the battlefield and, fearing the enemy, hides by entering a terrifying lake. This sets the stage for subsequent events in which he is sought out and confronted.