Shloka 15

Devanagari script

'पुरुषसिंह! ऐसी अवस्थामें तुम पुरुषार्थका भरोसा करके क्षत्रिय-धर्मको सामने रखते हुए अर्जुनपर चढ़ाई करो ।। भारो हि धार्तराष्ट्रेण त्वयि सर्व: समाहित: । तमुद्गरह महाबाहो यथाशक्ति यथाबलम्‌,“महाबाहो! धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनने सारा भार तुम्हींपर रख छोड़ा है। तुम अपने बल और शक्तिके अनुसार उस भारका वहन करो

Transliteration

puruṣasiṁha! etādṛśyāṁ daśāyāṁ tvaṁ puruṣārtha-bharosā kṛtvā kṣatriya-dharmaṁ puraskṛtyārjunam abhyārohaya. bhāro hi dhārtarāṣṭreṇa tvayi sarvaḥ samāhitaḥ; tam udgṛhya mahābāho yathāśakti yathābalam.

Translation

Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O leon sa mga tao, sa ganitong kagipitan, umasa ka sa sariling pagsisikap at tapang, ilagay sa unahan ang tungkulin ng kshatriya, at sumalakay kay Arjuna. Sapagkat si Duryodhana, anak ni Dhritarashtra, ay ipinagkatiwala sa iyo ang buong pasanin; kaya, O makapangyarihang bisig, pasanin mo iyon at dalhin ayon sa iyong lakas at kakayahan.”

Word by Word

• {'puruṣasiṁha': '‘lion among men’

• an epithet for a foremost hero', 'daśā': 'condition, situation, crisis', 'puruṣārtha': 'human effort/initiative

• personal exertion and resolve', 'bharosā (bharoṣā)': 'reliance, confidence (Hindi rendering of Sanskrit sense)', 'kṣatriya-dharma': 'the duty/ethos of a warrior: courage, protection, steadfastness in battle', 'puraskṛtya (puraskṛta)': 'placing in front

• keeping as the guiding principle', 'abhyārohaya / abhyārohati': 'to advance upon, charge, attack', 'bhāra': 'burden, responsibility, the weight of the campaign', 'dhārtarāṣṭra': 'descendant/son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• here Duryodhana', 'samāhita': 'placed upon, entrusted, concentrated/collected', 'udgṛhya (udgṛhṇīhi)': 'take up, lift, assume (a burden)', 'mahābāho': '‘mighty-armed’

• epithet for a powerful warrior', 'yathāśakti': 'according to one’s capacity', 'yathābalam': 'according to one’s strength'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Duryodhana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames battlefield action as an ethical obligation: a kṣatriya must act with courage and resolve, accepting responsibility proportionate to one’s strength. It emphasizes personal effort (puruṣārtha) and accountability when leadership entrusts a decisive burden.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an exhortation directed to a leading warrior (contextually Karṇa): Duryodhana has placed the campaign’s decisive responsibility upon him, so he is urged to uphold kṣatriya-dharma and charge Arjuna, bearing the entrusted burden to the best of his power.