Shloka 1

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

अपने-आप छा अर: षोडशोड<्ध्याय: अर्जुनका संशप्तकों तथा अश्वत्थामाके साथ अदभुत युद्ध धृतराष्ट्र रवाच यथा संशप्तकै: सार्धमर्जुनस्या भवद्‌ रण: । अन्येषां च महीपानां पाण्डवैस्तद्‌ ब्रवीहि मे

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yathā saṁsaptakaiḥ sārdham arjunasya abhavad raṇaḥ | anyeṣāṁ ca mahīpānāṁ pāṇḍavaiḥ tad bravīhi me ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra nói: “Sañjaya, hãy kể cho ta nghe trận chiến đã diễn ra thế nào—Arjuna đã giao chiến với các Saṁsaptaka ra sao, và các vua khác đã đánh nhau với những Pāṇḍava như thế nào.”

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'yathā': 'how, in what manner', 'saṁsaptakaiḥ': 'with the Saṁsaptakas (a vowed band of warriors sworn to fight Arjuna)', 'sārdham': 'together with, in company with', 'arjunasya': 'of Arjuna', 'abhavat': 'became, occurred, took place', 'raṇaḥ': 'battle, combat', 'anyeṣām': 'of others', 'ca': 'and', 'mahīpānām': 'of kings, rulers (lit. ‘lords of the earth’)', 'pāṇḍavaiḥ': 'with/against the Pāṇḍavas', 'tat': 'that (matter)', 'bravīhi': 'tell, relate', 'me': 'to me'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Saṁsaptakas
• Pāṇḍavas
• other kings (mahīpāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical frame of war in the epic: rulers and warriors are judged by how they act under vows, duty, and pressure. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inquiry also highlights the moral tension of attachment—his need to hear the battle’s details reflects the stakes of kingship, responsibility, and the consequences of choices that led to war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to narrate the course of fighting: specifically, Arjuna’s engagement with the Saṁsaptakas (a dedicated contingent focused on confronting him) and the simultaneous battles between the Pāṇḍavas and other kings on the field.