Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 40

Devanagari script

तमब्रवीन्महाराज पुत्रस्तव विशाम्पते

Transliteration

tam abravīn mahārāja putras tava viśāmpate | mahārāja prajānātha tava putro 'bravīt—“dvijaśreṣṭha svasti te | yadi tvaṁ mama priyaṁ kartum icchasi tarhi mamājñayā droṇaputrasya senāpatipade 'bhiṣekaṁ kuru” ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Ôi Đại vương, ôi Chúa tể muôn dân,” con trai của ngài đã nói với ông ấy rằng: “Bậc tối thượng trong hàng Bà-la-môn, cầu phúc lành đến với ngài. Nếu ngài muốn làm điều khiến ta vừa lòng, thì theo lệnh ta, hãy cử hành lễ quán đảnh tấn phong con trai của Droṇa vào chức Tổng chỉ huy quân đội.”

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अब्रवीत्: said/spoke
• अब्रवीत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पुत्रः: son
• पुत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तव: your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• विशाम्: of the people/subjects
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• पते: O lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by addresses mahārāja/viśāmpate/prajānātha)
• Duryodhana (implied as 'your son')
• Droṇaputra (Aśvatthāman)
• Senāpati (office of commander-in-chief)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in wartime, decisions about authority and leadership are often driven by personal loyalty and urgency rather than calm deliberation. It implicitly raises an ethical tension: the king’s duty to act for the realm versus the pressure to satisfy a son’s demand and escalate conflict through a hardline commander.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the king’s son speaks to a leading Brahmin/elder and asks that Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman) be formally installed as commander-in-chief of the army, indicating a strategic shift in Kaurava leadership during the Shalya Parva.