Shloka 25

Adhyāya 125: Raṅga-pradarśana — Arjuna’s Entry and Astric Demonstration (रङ्गप्रदर्शनम्)

Devanagari script

माद्रयुवाच अहमेवानुयास्यामि भर्तारमपलायिनम्‌ । न हि तृप्तास्मि कामानां ज्येष्ठा मामनुमन्यताम्‌,माद्री बोली--रणभूमिसे कभी पीठ न दिखानेवाले अपने पतिदेवके साथ मैं ही जाऊँगी; क्योंकि उनके साथ होनेवाले कामभोगसे मैं तृप्त नहीं हो सकी हूँ। आप बड़ी बहिन हैं, इसलिये मुझे आपको आज्ञा प्रदान करनी चाहिये

Transliteration

mādry uvāca: aham evānuyāsyāmi bhartāram apalāyinam | na hi tṛptāsmi kāmānāṁ jyeṣṭhā mām anumanyatām ||

Translation

Mādrī sagte: „Ich allein werde meinem Gemahl folgen, der niemals in Flucht den Rücken kehrt. Denn ich bin an den Freuden der Liebe nicht satt geworden. Du bist die Ältere; so gewähre mir, o erste Königin, deine Erlaubnis.“

Word by Word

• {'mādrī uvāca': 'Mādrī said', 'aham eva': 'I alone

• I myself', 'anuyāsyāmi': 'I will follow

• I will go after', 'bhartāram': 'husband

• lord (as spouse)', 'apalāyinam': 'one who does not flee

• not a deserter (especially from battle)', 'na hi': 'indeed not

• certainly not', 'tṛptā asmi': 'I am satisfied (lit. ‘I am content’)', 'kāmānām': 'of pleasures/desires

• specifically erotic enjoyment', 'jyeṣṭhā': 'the elder (wife/sister)

• senior', 'mām': 'me', 'anumanyatām': 'let (her) consent/permit

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mādrī
• Pāṇḍu (implied by 'bhartā')
• Kuntī (implied by 'jyeṣṭhā')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds wifely loyalty and the ethics of consent within a household hierarchy: Mādrī asserts her resolve to accompany her husband and explicitly seeks the elder queen’s approval, showing that even intense personal resolve is framed within dharma and social order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the account of Pāṇḍu’s end in the forest, Mādrī declares that she will go with her husband (toward death), describing him as one who never flees, and asks the elder wife (Kuntī) to grant permission for her decision.