Shloka 5

Adhyāya 92: Irāvanta-śoka, punaḥ-pravṛttiḥ saṅgrāmasya

Arjuna’s grief and the battle’s renewed intensity

Devanagari script

अन्‍्येषां चैव शूराणां मध्यगास्तनया मम । यदहन्यन्त संग्रामे किमन्यद्‌ भागधेयत:

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | anyeṣāṃ caiva śūrāṇāṃ madhyagās tanayā mama | yad ahanyanta saṅgrāme kim anyad bhāgadhayataḥ ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “Dẫu bị bao quanh bởi những dũng sĩ hùng mạnh khác, các con ta—đứng ngay giữa họ—vẫn bị giết trên chiến địa hết ngày này qua ngày khác. Nếu sự thể là vậy, còn nguyên do nào khác ngoài số mệnh—vận rủi của chính ta, thứ áp đảo mọi nỗ lực của con người?”

Word by Word

• अन्येषाम्: of other
• अन्येषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• शूराणाम्: of heroes/warriors
• शूराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मध्यगाः: standing in the midst (of)
• मध्यगाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्यग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तनयाः: sons
• तनयाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मम: of me/my
• मम: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• यत्: since/that (fact) that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अहन्यन्त: were being slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Imperfect, 3, Plural, Atmanepada (passive sense)

• संग्रामे: in battle
• संग्रामे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• किम्: what?
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अन्यत्: other (than)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• भागधेयतः: than fate/lot
• भागधेयतः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भागधेय
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kaurava sons (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between human agency and destiny: Dhṛtarāṣṭra interprets repeated losses as the triumph of ill-fortune over strategy and strength, revealing how attachment can lead one to explain moral and political failure as mere ‘fate’ rather than responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

From Sañjaya’s war report context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments that his sons are being killed daily in the Kurukṣetra battle even though they fight amid renowned warriors; he concludes that only overpowering bad luck (bhāgadhaya/durbhāgya) can explain such outcomes.