Shloka 18

Devanagari script

रक्ष्यमाणो मया नित्यं वीर: सततमात्मवान्‌ । कथं त्वामत्यतिक्रान्त: शापं जानन्‌ वनौकस:,'माद्री! मैं सदा वीर एवं जितेन्द्रिय महाराजकी रक्षा करती आ रही थी। उन्होंने मृगके शापकी बात जानते हुए भी तुम्हारे साथ बलपूर्वक समागम कैसे किया?

Transliteration

rakṣyamāṇo mayā nityaṃ vīraḥ satatam ātmavān | kathaṃ tvām atyatikrāntaḥ śāpaṃ jānan vanaukasaḥ |

Translation

মাদ্রী! আমি তো সর্বদা সেই বীর, সংযমী রাজাকে রক্ষা করে এসেছি; তবু বনবাসী ঋষির শাপ জেনেও তিনি কীভাবে সংযম ভেঙে তোমার সঙ্গে বলপূর্বক মিলিত হলেন?

Word by Word

रक्ष्यमाणःbeing protected

मयाby me

नित्यम्always

वीरःthe hero/valiant man

सततम्constantly

आत्मवान्self-controlled, possessed of self

कथम्how?

त्वाम्you (object)

अत्यतिक्रान्तःhaving transgressed/overstepped

शापम्the curse

जानन्knowing

वनौकसःthe forest-dweller (ascetic)

माद्रिO Madri!

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mādrī

the king (Pāṇḍu, implied by context)

forest-dwelling sage/ascetic (vanaukasaḥ, implied source of the curse)

curse (śāpa)

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?

Even the disciplined can fall when desire overrides discernment; knowingly crossing a moral boundary (especially under a known curse) highlights the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on self-restraint and accountability for foreseeable consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker questions how the king, despite being continually guarded and aware of a forest-sage’s curse, still transgressed and engaged in forceful union with Mādrī—setting up the ethical and causal tension that the curse will inevitably bear fruit.