Shloka 57

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

यं य॑ सेनाप्रणेतारं युधि कुर्वन्ति मामका:

Transliteration

yaṃ yaḥ senāpraṇetāraṃ yudhi kurvanti māmakāḥ

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Sinumang italaga ng aking panig bilang pinunong kumandante ng hukbo sa digmaan…”

Word by Word

• यम्: whom
• यम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सेना-प्रणेतारम्: army-leader, commander
• सेना-प्रणेतारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनाप्रणेतृ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• कुर्वन्ति: they make, appoint
• कुर्वन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मामकाः: my men, my side (Kauravas)
• मामकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मामक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• māmakāḥ (Kauravas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line foregrounds the ethical weight of wartime leadership: appointing a commander is not merely tactical but shapes the conduct and consequences of war for one’s own side (māmakāḥ), implying responsibility for the outcomes that follow from such choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues describing the Kaurava side’s actions in the war context, introducing a statement about whomever they choose and install as their battlefield commander (senāpraṇetā) for the coming engagement.