Shloka 266

Karma-Yoga, Yajña-Cakra, and the Governance of Desire (कर्मयोग–यज्ञचक्र–कामनिग्रह)

Devanagari script

श्वशूरान्‌ सुहृदश्चैव सेनयोरुभयोरपि । इसके बाद पृथापुत्र अर्जुनने उन दोनों ही सेनाओंमें स्थित ताऊ-चाचोंको

Transliteration

śvaśūrān suhṛdaś caiva senayor ubhayor api |

Translation

桑贾亚说：阿周那又在两军之中看见了自己的岳家亲族与诸多善意相待之人；他在列阵的武士间辨认出那些以血缘与情爱同他相系者，于是临战之际，他心中的道义冲突愈加深重。

Word by Word

• श्वशूरान्: fathers-in-law
• श्वशूरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वशुर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सुहृदः: well-wishers, friends
• सुहृदः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुहृद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed, also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• सेनयोः: of (the two) armies
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Dual

• उभयोः: of both
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine/Feminine/Neuter, Genitive, Dual

• अपि: also, even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• the two armies (Kaurava and Pandava forces)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how dharma in war is complicated by personal relationships: seeing fathers-in-law and well-wishers on both sides intensifies Arjuna’s ethical crisis, setting the stage for reflection on duty versus attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

As Arjuna surveys the battlefield, Sanjaya reports that he recognizes even marital elders and close well-wishers among the warriors in both armies, underscoring that the coming conflict is not against strangers but against kin and friends.