Shloka 12
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ४०
Karṇa’s Pressure on the Pāñcālas; Duryodhana Disabled; Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
Devanagari script
पुत्राणां तस्य बालानां कुमाराणां यशस्विनाम्
Transliteration
putrāṇāṃ tasya bālānāṃ kumārāṇāṃ yaśasvinām
Translation
三阇耶说道：他谈及自己的诸子——尚且年幼，不过是王子——却已声名在外；他们的名望与前程之可期，与战争冷酷无情的要求形成了令人心酸的对照。
Word by Word
पुत्राणाम्of (the) sons
पुत्राणाम्:
Sambandha
TypeNoun
Rootपुत्र
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
तस्यof him / his
तस्य:
Sambandha
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular
बालानाम्of the young (ones)
बालानाम्:
Sambandha
TypeAdjective
Rootबाल
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
कुमाराणाम्of the princes / youths
कुमाराणाम्:
Sambandha
TypeNoun
Rootकुमार
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
यशस्विनाम्of the glorious / renowned
यशस्विनाम्:
Sambandha
TypeAdjective
Rootयशस्विन्
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the vulnerability of youth and the fragility of worldly glory: even the ‘illustrious’ young princes are not protected from the consequences of war, prompting reflection on responsibility and the human cost of conflict.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, refers to someone’s sons who are still young princes yet already famed—setting an emotional and evaluative frame for the surrounding account of battlefield events.