Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यथा वल्लिययथा वायुर्यथा55प: पृथिवी यथा। यथा55काशं तथा धर्म इह चामुत्र च स्थित:,'जैसे अग्नि, वायु, जल, पृथ्वी और आकाशकी सत्ता इहलोक और परलोकमें भी है, उसी प्रकार धर्म भी उभय लोकमें व्याप्त है

Transliteration

yathā valli yathā vāyur yathā āpaḥ pṛthivī yathā | yathā ākāśaṃ tathā dharma iha cāmutra ca sthitaḥ ||

Translation

قال فايشَمبايانا: «كما أن النار والريح والماء والأرض والفضاء موجودة في هذا العالم وفي العالم الآخر، كذلك الدارما قائمة حاضرة وفاعلة في العالمين: هنا وهناك».

Word by Word

यथाjust as / as

वह्निःfire

यथाjust as

वायुःwind

यथाjust as

आपःwaters

पृथिवीearth

यथाjust as

आकाशम्space / sky

तथाso / likewise

धर्मःdharma / righteousness

इहhere (in this world)

चand

अमुत्रthere (in the other world)

चand

स्थितःis established / exists

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

dharma

vāyu (wind)

āpaḥ (water)

pṛthivī (earth)

ākāśa (space/ether)

agni (fire)

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?

Dharma is not limited to social convention or a single lifetime; like the fundamental elements, it pervades existence and remains effective both in this world (iha) and in the hereafter (amutra), implying enduring moral causality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a reflective, instructive statement is given to emphasize the universality and permanence of dharma, using the ever-present elements as an analogy.