Shloka 20

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनवच: श्रुत्वा राधेयस्त्वब्रवीद्‌ वच: । आचार्य पृष्ठतः कृत्वा तथा नीतिर्विधीयताम्‌,दुर्योधनकी बात सुनकर राधानन्दन कर्णने कहा--“राजन्‌! आप आचार्य द्रोणको पीछे रखकर ऐसी नीति बनाइये कि विजय प्राप्त हो

Transliteration

duryodhanavacaḥ śrutvā rādheyas tv abravīd vacaḥ | ācāryaṃ pṛṣṭhataḥ kṛtvā tathā nītir vidhīyatām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Nghe lời Duryodhana, Radheya (Karna) đáp: “Tâu Đại vương, hãy để thầy Droṇa ở phía sau (giữ làm lực lượng dự bị) và định kế sách theo đó—để nắm chắc thắng lợi.”

Word by Word

दुर्योधन-वचःDuryodhana's speech/words

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

राधेयःRadheya (Karna)

तुbut/indeed

अब्रवीत्said/spoke

वचःwords/speech

आचार्यO teacher (Drona)

पृष्ठतःfrom behind/at the back

कृत्वाhaving placed/made

तथाthus/in that manner

नीतिःpolicy/strategy

विधीयताम्let (it) be arranged/ordained

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Duryodhana

Rādheya (Karna)

Droṇa (Ācārya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a tension between reverence for authority (the ācārya) and the drive for victory: Karna urges a strategy that prioritizes outcome over customary deference, illustrating how political-military nīti can conflict with ethical ideals of honoring one’s teacher.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that after hearing Duryodhana speak, Karna responds with tactical counsel: keep Droṇa ‘behind’ and arrange the plan accordingly, implying a reordering of roles on the battlefield to maximize the Kauravas’ chances of success.