Shloka 8

Devanagari script

प्रकालयेद्‌ दिश: सर्वा: प्रतोदेनेव सारथि: । प्रत्यमित्रश्रियं दीप्तां जिघ॒क्षुर्भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

prakalayed diśaḥ sarvāḥ pratodeneva sārathiḥ | pratyamittraśriyaṃ dīptāṃ jighakṣur bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่ภารตะ ดุจสารถีใช้แส้กระตุ้นม้าแล้วขับรถศึกไปทุกทิศ เขาก็จะพุ่งไปทุกด้าน ด้วยหมายใจจะทำลายความรุ่งเรืองอันโชติช่วงของศัตรูให้สิ้น

Word by Word

प्रकालयेत्should drive/urge on

दिशःdirections

सर्वाःall

प्रतोदेनwith a goad/whip

इवlike/as

सारथिःa charioteer

प्रत्यामित्रश्रियम्the prosperity of the opposing enemy

दीप्ताम्blazing, radiant

जिघक्षुःwishing to slay

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Bharatarṣabha (honorific addressee)

sārathi (charioteer)

pratoda (goad/whip)

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 a destructive ethical impulse: the will to diminish others’ prosperity out of rivalry. It implicitly warns that envy and the urge to ‘destroy the opponent’s glory’ propel conflict and undermine dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana describes an aggressive drive—like a charioteer whipping horses—pushing action in all directions with the aim of crushing the opponents’ shining success, revealing his hostile intent and competitive resentment.