Shloka 2136

काकोपमोपदेशः

The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa

Devanagari script

पज्चभिर्निशितैर्बाणै: स्वर्णपुड्खै: शिलाशितै: । आपके पुत्र राजा दुर्योधनने भी शिलापर तेज किये हुए सुवर्णमय पंखवाले पाँच पैने बाणोंद्वारा युधिष्ठिरको घायल करके तुरंत बदला चुकाया

Transliteration

pañcabhir niśitair bāṇaiḥ svarṇapuṅkhaiḥ śilāśitaiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Với năm mũi tên sắc—lông đuôi mạ vàng, mài bén trên đá—vua Duryodhana, con trai bệ hạ, đã bắn trúng Yudhiṣṭhira làm ngài bị thương và lập tức trả đòn.

Word by Word

• पञ्चभिः: with five
• पञ्चभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च
• Form: —, Instrumental, Plural

• निशितैः: sharp
• निशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निशित
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• बाणैः: arrows
• बाणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• स्वर्णपुङ्खैः: having golden feathers (fletching)
• स्वर्णपुङ्खैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्णपुङ्ख
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शिलाशितैः: whetted on a stone
• शिलाशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाशित
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duryodhana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• five arrows (pañca bāṇāḥ)
• gold-fletched arrows (svarṇapuṅkha)
• stone whet/honing (śilā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how retaliation perpetuates violence: in battle, the impulse to 'repay' injury quickly becomes a self-feeding cycle that eclipses restraint and ethical reflection, even when framed within kṣatriya warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana, using five sharp, stone-honed, gold-fletched arrows, strikes and wounds Yudhiṣṭhira, immediately answering a prior attack.