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Shloka 5

Adhyaya 5Tvashta’s Wrath, the Birth of Vritra, and the Divine Descent as the Pandavas

स्वकर्माभिरतो येन मत्सुतो विनपातितः ।

इत्युक्त्वा कोपरक्ताक्षो जटामग्नौ जुहाव ताम् ॥

svakarmābhirato yena matsuto vinapātitaḥ / ity uktvā koparaktākṣo jaṭām agnau juhāva tām

«لأنه كان متعلّقًا بأفعاله وحدها، هلك ابني من غير أيّ تدخّل مُنقِذ». ثم قال ذلك، وعيناه محمرّتان من الغضب، فقرّبها قربانًا وألقاها في النار المتأجّجة من خُصَلِه المعقودة.

स्वकर्मone’s own deed
स्वकर्म:
हेतु/निमित्त (कारणम्)
TypeNoun
Rootस्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (स्वस्य कर्म = one’s own deed)
अभिरतःengaged (in)
अभिरतः:
विशेषण (of subject)
TypeAdjective
Rootअभि-रम् (धातु) → अभिरत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (past participle), ‘engaged/delighting in’
येनby whom/whereby
येन:
करण (करणम्)
TypeNoun
Rootयद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुं/नपुंसक, तृतीया (3), एकवचन; relative pronoun ‘by whom/whereby’
मत्सुतःmy son
मत्सुतः:
कर्मणि-कर्तृ/भोग्य (affected entity)
TypeNoun
Rootमत् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + सुत (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (मम सुतः = my son)
विनिपातितःfelled, struck down
विनिपातितः:
विशेषण (of matsutaḥ)
TypeAdjective
Rootवि-नि-पत् (धातु) → विनिपातित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त (PPP), ‘struck down/caused to fall’
इतिthus
इति:
वाक्य-सम्बन्ध (quotation marker)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइति (अव्यय)
Formउक्त्यर्थक-अव्यय (quotative particle)
उक्त्वाhaving said
उक्त्वा:
पूर्वकाल (prior action)
TypeVerb
Rootवच् (धातु) → उक्त्वा (क्त्वान्त)
Formक्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund/absolutive), ‘having said’
कोप-रक्त-अक्षः(he) whose eyes were reddened by anger
कोप-रक्त-अक्षः:
कर्ता (कर्तृ)
TypeAdjective
Rootकोप (प्रातिपदिक) + रक्त (प्रातिपदिक) + अक्षि (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; बहुव्रीहिः—‘whose eyes are red with anger’
जटा-अग्नौin the fire (in) his matted locks
जटा-अग्नौ:
अधिकरण (अधिकरणम्)
TypeNoun
Rootजटा (प्रातिपदिक) + अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (जटायाः अग्निः = fire of/ in the matted hair)
जुहावoffered (as oblation)
जुहाव:
क्रिया (action)
TypeVerb
Rootहु (धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन; परस्मैपद
ताम्her/that (woman)
ताम्:
कर्म (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2), एकवचन; demonstrative pronoun
Narrator describing an ascetic’s act (specific frame-speakers not explicit in this single verse excerpt)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

DharmaKarmaAscetic wrath (tapas and krodha)Ritual imagery (homa/oblation)Consequences of self-absorption

FAQs

The verse highlights how fixation on one’s own pursuits (svakarma-ābhirati) can become ethically blameworthy when it results in neglect of relational duties—here, the speaker frames his son’s ruin as arising from another’s self-absorbed conduct. It also warns that grief can turn into destructive anger: the ascetic’s krodha becomes ‘ritualized’ as an offering into jaṭāgni, showing how power (tapas) without restraint can become adharmic.

This verse is best classified under Vaṃśānucarita / narrative of persons and their deeds (ethical-legendary episode), rather than sarga/pratisarga or manvantara. It functions as didactic storytelling (ākhyāna) illustrating dharma and the perils of uncontrolled ascetic power.

‘Fire in the matted locks’ (jaṭāgni) symbolizes tapas as an inner sacrificial fire: ascetic heat can ‘consume’ objects of attachment and also become a vehicle for wrath. The act of ‘offering her’ suggests a perversion of yajña—when ego and anger replace devotion and discernment, the sacred mechanism of transformation becomes an instrument of harm.