Shloka 5

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts

Devanagari script

त्रिभागश्नावशिष्टोडयं दिवसस्य जनार्दन । नच मां धार्तराष्ट्रेषु कच्चिद्‌ युध्यति संयुगे,“जनार्दन! इस सम्पूर्ण दिनके ये तीन भाग ही शेष रह गये हैं। दुर्योधनकी सेनाओंमेंसे कोई भी मेरे साथ युद्ध नहीं कर रहा है'

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

tribhāgaś cāvaśiṣṭo 'yaṃ divasasya janārdana |

na ca māṃ dhārtarāṣṭreṣu kaścid yudhyati saṃyuge ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“噢，阇那尔达那！今日只余三分时光。然而在持国之子中，竟无一人于战阵中与我交锋。他们不敢迎战，显出在决断之刻武勇与职责的崩塌——刹帝利之本分当是挺身而战，而非从正当的争战中退却。”

Word by Word

त्रिभागःthree parts (i.e., three quarters)

नnot

अवशिष्टःremaining

उदयम्rise; (here) the day’s course/portion (intended sense: the day)

दिवसस्यof the day

जनार्दनO Janārdana (Krishna)

नnot

चand

माम्me

धार्तराष्ट्रेषुamong the Dhārtarāṣṭras (sons/forces of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

कच्चित्surely? I hope; is it the case that…?

युध्यतिfights

संयुगेin battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa)

Dhārtarāṣṭras (Kauravas)

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

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical expectation of steadfastness in one’s duty: in a war context, it criticizes the failure of warriors to uphold kṣatriya-dharma by avoiding engagement when the day is nearing its end.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses Kṛṣṇa (Janārdana), noting that only a short portion of the day remains, yet none from the Kaurava side (Dhārtarāṣṭras) is coming forward to fight him in the ongoing battle.