Shloka 40

शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement

Devanagari script

यावत्‌ प्राणा धरिष्यन्ति धार्तराष्ट्रस्य दुर्मते: । तावद्‌ युष्मास्वपापेषु प्रचरिष्यति पापकम्‌

Transliteration

yāvat prāṇā dhariṣyanti dhārtarāṣṭrasya durmateḥ | tāvad yuṣmāsv apāpeṣu pracariṣyati pāpakam ||

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు—“ధృతరాష్ట్రుని ఆ దుర్మతి కుమారునిలో ప్రాణం ఉన్నంతకాలం, మీరు నిరపరాధ సోదరులైన మీపై కూడా అతడు పాపకర్మలనే కొనసాగిస్తాడు.”

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as
• यावत्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत्
• Form: correlative adverb (yāvat–tāvat construction)

• प्राणाः: life-breaths; lives
• प्राणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• धरिष्यन्ति: will hold; will remain
• Type: Verb
• Root: धृ
• Form: future (luṭ), 3rd person, plural, parasmaipada

• धार्तराष्ट्रस्य: of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana)
• धार्तराष्ट्रस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्तराष्ट्र
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• दुर्मतेः: of the evil-minded one
• दुर्मतेः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्मति
• Form: feminine, genitive, singular

• तावत्: so long; until then
• तावत्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तावत्
• Form: correlative adverb (yāvat–tāvat construction)

• युष्मासु: among you; towards you
• युष्मासु: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: plural, locative

• अपापेषु: sinless; blameless
• अपापेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपाप
• Form: masculine, locative, plural

• प्रचरिष्यति: will behave; will act; will proceed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-चर्
• Form: future (luṭ), 3rd person, singular, parasmaipada

• पापकम्: evil (conduct); sin
• पापकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापक
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (by patronymic)
• Duryodhana (implied by dhārtarāṣṭra)
• the Pāṇḍava brothers (implied by yuṣmāsu, apāpeṣu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person fixed in durmati (perverse, unethical resolve) tends to persist in pāpaka (harmful, sinful conduct) as long as the underlying disposition remains unchanged; moral purity in others (apāpa) does not by itself reform such a person.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, characterizes Duryodhana as incorrigibly evil-minded and warns that he will continue wrongful behavior even toward the blameless Pāṇḍava brothers for as long as he lives.