Shloka 54

Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)

Devanagari script

ततो बद्ध्वा लतापाशैर्भीम॑ दुर्योधन: स्वयम्‌ | मृतकल्पं तदा वीर॑ स्थलाज्जलमपातयत्‌,तब दुर्योधनने स्वयं लताओंके पाशमें वीरवर भीमको कसकर बाँधा। वे मुर्देके समान हो रहे थे। फिर उसने गंगाजीके ऊँचे तटसे उन्हें जलमें ढकेल दिया

Transliteration

tato baddhvā latāpāśair bhīmaṃ duryodhanaḥ svayam | mṛtakalpaṃ tadā vīraṃ sthalāj jalam apātayat ||

Translation

Darauf band Duryodhana selbst Bhīma fest mit Schlingen aus Ranken. Als jener Held wie leblos geworden war, stieß er ihn vom hohen Ufer hinab ins Wasser (der Gaṅgā).

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

बद्ध्वाhaving bound

लतापाशैःwith creeper-ropes (nooses made of creepers)

भीमम्Bhima

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

स्वयम्himself

मृतकल्पम्as if dead, like a corpse

तदाat that time

वीरम्the hero (Bhima)

स्थलात्from the bank/ground

जलम्into the water

अपातयत्caused to fall, threw down

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīma

Duryodhana

Gaṅgā (implied by context: river/bank)

latā-pāśa (creeper-noose)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical collapse that fuels the epic’s conflict: envy and fear lead Duryodhana to attempt harm through deceit rather than righteous confrontation, marking a clear movement toward adharma and its consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

After rendering Bhīma helpless (contextually, following earlier treachery), Duryodhana personally ties him with creeper-nooses and throws him from the riverbank into the water, intending his death.