Mahabharata 9.39.12 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 12

Ārṣṭiṣeṇa’s Siddhi and the Tīrtha-Boons; Sindhudvīpa–Devāpi Brāhmaṇya; Viśvāmitra’s Tapas Begins

Devanagari script

स तेन लग्नेन तदा द्विजातिर्न शशाक ह

Transliteration

sa tena lagnena tadā dvijātir na śaśāka ha

Translation

সেই সময় সেই লাগি ৰোৱাত আবদ্ধ হৈ সেই দ্বিজে একো কৰিব নোৱাৰিলে।

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तेन: by/with that
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• लग्नेन: stuck/attached; having clung
• लग्नेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लग्न
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• द्विजातिः: the twice-born (brahmin)
• द्विजातिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजाति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• शशाक: was able
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ह: indeed/for emphasis
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• dvijāti (a twice-born/Brahmin figure, unnamed here)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a learned or socially elevated person (dvijāti) can become powerless when bound by attachment or a constraining circumstance; ethical action requires freedom from such clinging and steadiness of resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that, due to being caught or held fast by something referred to as 'that bond/attachment' (tena lagnena), the twice-born man could not manage to act or continue—marking a moment of impediment in the unfolding events.