Mahabharata 9.3.6 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 3, Shloka 6

अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

अपारे पारमिच्छन्तो हते द्वीपे किरीटिना । सूतपुत्रे हते राजन्‌ वित्रस्ता: शरविक्षता:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | apāre pāram icchanto hate dvīpe kirīṭinā | sūtaputre hate rājan vitrastāḥ śaravikṣatāḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“大王啊，如同商旅在无边大海中舟破无舟，仍欲渡至彼岸却被惊惶所制；同样，当那在战阵中如‘岛屿’般屹立的车夫之子被戴冠的阿周那所杀，我们也都惊惧不已，身躯为箭矢所创，支离破碎。”

Word by Word

• अपारे: in the boundless (sea)
• अपारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपार
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पारम्: the far shore
• पारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इच्छन्तः: desiring
• इच्छन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हते: when (he) was slain
• हते: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• द्वीपे: on the island / (as) an island
• द्वीपे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वीप
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• किरीटिना: by the diadem-wearer (Arjuna)
• किरीटिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: किरीटिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सूतपुत्रे: when the charioteer’s son (Karna) (was slain)
• सूतपुत्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• हते: when slain
• हते: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• वित्रस्ताः: terrified
• वित्रस्ताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-त्रस्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle; adjectival use), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शर-विक्षताः: wounded by arrows
• शर-विक्षताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शर + विक्षत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Arjuna (Kirīṭin)
• Karṇa (Sūtaputra)
• ocean (metaphorical)
• boat (metaphorical)
• island (metaphorical refuge)
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how armies and individuals often depend on a single perceived ‘refuge’ or pillar of strength; when that support falls, fear and moral disorientation spread rapidly. It underscores the fragility of confidence rooted in external power and the swift psychological collapse that can follow the loss of a leader.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after Arjuna (the diadem-wearer) killed Karṇa (the charioteer’s son), the Kaurava side felt as if their ‘island’ in the ocean of battle had sunk. Wounded by arrows and overwhelmed, they became terrified and shaken.