Shloka 53

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

जरापरिगतो वृद्ध: क्षुधार्तो दुर्बलो भूशम्‌

Transliteration

jarāparigato vṛddhaḥ kṣudhārto durbalo bhūśam

Translation

নকুল বললেন—“বার্ধক্যে জর্জরিত এক বৃদ্ধ, ক্ষুধায় কাতর ও দুর্বল—ভূমিতে শুয়ে থাকে।”

Word by Word

• जरापरिगतः: overtaken by old age
• जरापरिगतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जरापरिगत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृद्धः: aged, old
• वृद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षुधार्तः: afflicted by hunger
• क्षुधार्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुधार्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्बलः: weak
• दुर्बलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्बल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूशम्: greatly, exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूशम्

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nakula
• an aged man (vṛddha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds vulnerability—old age, hunger, and weakness—inviting a dharmic response of compassion and responsible care for those who are helpless.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nakula describes the pitiable condition of an elderly person: overcome by age, starving, and too weak to stand, he is lying on the ground—setting up a moral or practical response in the surrounding episode.