Shloka 6

धृतराष्ट्र–दुर्योधन संवादः

Vāraṇāvata-vivāsana-nīti: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Duryodhana’s Policy Dialogue

Devanagari script

ततो जानपदीं नाम देवकन्यां सुरेश्वर: । प्राहिणोत्‌ तपसो विघ्नं कुरु तस्येति कौरव,कौरव! तब देवराजने जानपदी नामकी एक देवकन्याको उनके पास भेजा और यह आदेश दिया कि “तुम शरद्वानकी तपस्यामें विघ्न डालो”

Transliteration

tato jānapadīṃ nāma devakanyāṃ sureśvaraḥ | prāhiṇot tapaso vighnaṃ kuru tasyeti kaurava ||

Translation

Darauf sandte der Herr der Götter eine himmlische Jungfrau namens Jānapadī aus und befahl ihr: „O Kaurava, geh und störe seine Askese.“

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

जानपदीम्Jānapadī (name of a celestial maiden)

नामby name, named

देवकन्याम्a divine maiden

सुरेश्वरःthe lord of the gods (Indra)

प्राहिणोत्sent, dispatched

तपसःof the austerity

विघ्नम्obstacle, hindrance

कुरुdo, make

तस्यof him, his

इतिthus (quotative)

कौरवO Kaurava (address)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Indra (Sureśvara)

Jānapadī (devakanyā)

Śaradvān (implied by context: the ascetic whose tapas is to be obstructed)

Kaurava (addressee)

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?

Tapas is portrayed as a potent moral-spiritual force that can challenge established power; the narrative cautions that even divine authorities may act defensively, using temptation or disruption, raising questions about the ethics of ends versus means.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra, concerned about the ascetic’s growing power through austerity, sends the celestial maiden Jānapadī with the explicit instruction to create an obstacle to his tapas—an archetypal Mahābhārata motif of testing or derailing ascetic practice.