Shloka 11

अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्

Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa

Devanagari script

आचार्यशापो<नुगतो ध्रुवं त्वां यदग्रसच्चक्रमिदं धरित्री । तत: शरेणापहतं शिरस्ते धनंजयेनाहवशोभिना युधि

Transliteration

ācāryaśāpo 'nugato dhruvaṃ tvāṃ yad agrasac cakram idaṃ dharitri | tataḥ śareṇāpahataṃ śiras te dhanaṃjayenāhavaśobhinā yudhi ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hẳn nhiên lời nguyền của bậc thầy đã ứng vào ngươi, bởi bánh xe ấy bị đất mẹ nuốt chặt. Vì thế, giữa chiến địa, đầu ngươi đã bị mũi tên của Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)—kẻ làm rạng rỡ chiến trường—đánh gục.”

Word by Word

• आचार्यशापः: the teacher’s curse
• आचार्यशापः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार्य-शाप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अनुगतः: has followed / has come upon
• अनुगतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनु-गम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ध्रुवम्: surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ध्रुव

• त्वाम्: you
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• यत्: which
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अग्रसत्: swallowed / devoured
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रस्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular

• चक्रम्: the discus
• चक्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इदम्: this
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• धरित्री: the earth
• धरित्री: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरित्री
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then / thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• शरेण: with an arrow
• शरेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अपहतम्: struck off / cut down
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप-हन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ते: of you / your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• धनंजयेन: by Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• धनंजयेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनंजय
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• आहवशोभिना: splendid in battle
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आहव-शोभिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Ācārya (teacher, implied)
• Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• chariot wheel (cakra)
• earth/ground (dharitrī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a warrior’s downfall as the convergence of moral causality (a teacher’s curse) and battlefield circumstance: when one is bound by prior wrongdoing and its consequences, even a small turn of events (the wheel caught in the earth) can become the doorway through which fate and justice operate.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker explains that the opponent was immobilized when the chariot wheel became stuck in the earth; at that moment, Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), famed for splendor in battle, struck off his head with an arrow—presented as the fulfillment of an earlier curse.