Shloka 256

Devanagari script

दुःशासनादवरजैस्तव पुत्रैर्धनंजय: । इसी समय आपके दस वीर पुत्रोंने, जो योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ और दुःशासनसे छोटे थे, अर्जुनको चारों ओरसे घेर लिया

Transliteration

duḥśāsanād avarajais tava putrair dhanañjayaḥ | asmin samaye tava daśa vīra-putrāḥ yoddhṛṣu śreṣṭhāḥ duḥśāsanāt kaniṣṭhāḥ arjunam sarvataḥ paryavārayann iti |

Translation

سنجے نے کہا—اسی لمحے دُشّاسن سے کم عمر، جنگ آوروں میں نامور تمہارے دس بہادر بیٹوں نے دھننجے (ارجن) کو چاروں طرف سے گھیر لیا۔

Word by Word

दुःशासनात्from Duhshasana

अवरजैःby the younger ones

तवyour

पुत्रैःby (your) sons

धनंजयःDhananjaya (Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duḥśāsana

Arjuna (Dhanañjaya)

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'tava')

Kaurava princes (the ten sons mentioned)

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 battlefield ethic: when facing an exceptionally powerful warrior, opponents often rely on coordinated collective action. It also reflects how, in war, familial bonds yield to kṣatriya-duty and tactical necessity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that ten of the king’s sons, younger than Duḥśāsana, close in and surround Arjuna from all directions, attempting to contain or overwhelm him through encirclement.