Mahabharata · 7.107.1
॥
Devanāgarī
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
यस्मिञ् जयाशा सततं पुत्राणां मम संजय ॥
तं दृष्ट्वा विमुखं संख्ये किं नु दुर्योधनो ऽब्रवीत् ॥
कर्णो वा समरे तात किम् अकार्षीद् अतः परम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
yasmiñ jayāśā satataṃ putrāṇāṃ mama saṃjaya ||
taṃ dṛṣṭvā vimukhaṃ saṃkhye kiṃ nu duryodhano 'bravīt ||
karṇo vā samare tāta kim akārṣīd ataḥ param ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्मिन् जयाशा सततम्yasmin jayāśā satatam[in] whom hope [of] victory constantly; in whom always the hope of victory
पुत्राणाम् मम संजयputrāṇām mama saṃjayaof my sons, Sanjaya; of my sons, O Sanjaya
तम् दृष्ट्वा विमुखम् संख्येtam dṛṣṭvā vimukham saṃkhyeseeing him turned away [in] battle; seeing him turned away in the fight
किम् नु दुर्योधनः अब्रवीत्kim nu duryodhanaḥ abravītwhat indeed Duryodhana said; what indeed did Duryodhana say
Translation
"He in whom rests forever the hope of victory for my sons — seeing him turned away in battle, what did Duryodhana say, O Sanjaya?"
Version
da32c12c91ba · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:17:33 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
All the army's hope rests on one man — and so Karna's retreat wounds more than any wound. It is telling that the blind father asks first not about losses, but about his son's word: what holds him is not the outcome of the fight, but Duryodhana's face. The verse teaches that hope placed in a man wavers with him; whoever has staked all his hope on a mortal will be shaken by every tremor of that mortal's fortune.