Shloka 44

Devanagari script

स्वाहा स्वधा शची चैव स्वस्ति कुर्वन्तु ते सदा । लक्ष्मीररुन्धती चैव कुरुतां स्वस्ति तेडनघ,निष्पाप नरेश! स्वाहा, स्वधा और शची आदि देवियाँ तुम्हारा सदा कल्याण करें। लक्ष्मी और अरुन्धती भी तुम्हारा मंगल करें

Transliteration

svāhā svadhā śacī caiva svasti kurvantu te sadā | lakṣmīr arundhatī caiva kurutāṃ svasti te 'nagha nṛeśa ||

Translation

قال سنجيا: «لتجعل سْفاهَا وسْفَذَا وشَچِي لك السلامة دائمًا. ولتمنحك لاكشمي وأروندَتي أيضًا البِشر والبركة، أيها الملك الذي لا دنس عليه».

Word by Word

स्वाहाSvāhā (goddess/personification of oblation-call)

स्वधाSvadhā (goddess/personification of ancestral offering-call)

शचीŚacī (Indrāṇī)

चand

एवindeed/just

स्वस्तिwelfare/auspiciousness

कुर्वन्तुmay they do/may they grant

तेto you

सदाalways

लक्ष्मीःLakṣmī

अरुन्धतीArundhatī

चand

एवalso/indeed

कुरुताम्may the two do/may they both grant

स्वस्तिwelfare/auspiciousness

तेto you

अनघO sinless one

निष्पापO guiltless one

नरेशO king (lord of men)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Svāhā

Svadhā

Śacī (Indrāṇī)

Lakṣmī

Arundhatī

the king (nareśa; addressed figure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid conflict, the text foregrounds auspicious speech and moral reassurance: invoking sacred and exemplary feminine powers (ritual, prosperity, fidelity) to protect a righteous ruler underscores that dharmic leadership is sustained not only by force but by blessing, restraint, and ethical legitimacy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to the king, offers a formal benediction—calling on Svāhā, Svadhā, Śacī, Lakṣmī, and Arundhatī to grant continual well-being—serving as a protective invocation within the tense wartime setting of the Droṇa Parva.