Shloka 18

Drupada’s Putrakāmeṣṭi: The Sacrificial Birth of Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Kṛṣṇā

Devanagari script

अहस्सु विहरानेन यथाकामं॑ मनोजवा | अयं त्वानयितव्यस्ते भीमसेन: सदा निशि,तुम मनके समान वेगसे चलने-फिरनेवाली हो, अतः दिनभर तो तुम इनके साथ अपनी इच्छाके अनुसार विहार करो, परंतु रातको सदा ही तुम्हें भीमसेनको (हमारे पास) पहुँचा देना होगा

Transliteration

ahaḥsu viharaṇena yathākāmaṃ manojavā | ayaṃ tvānayitavyas te bhīmasenaḥ sadā niśi ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „O du, die du so schnell bist wie der Gedanke: Am Tage magst du nach Belieben umherstreifen und dich nach Wunsch ergehen. Doch jede Nacht muss Bhīmasena ohne Fehl zu uns zurückgebracht werden.“

Word by Word

अहःसुin the days / by day

विहारानेनby roaming / by recreation

यथाकामम्as desired / at will

मनोजवाO swift as the mind

अयम्this (one)

त्वाyou

आनयितव्यःis to be brought / must be led

तेfor you / to you

भीमसेनःBhimasena

सदाalways

निशिat night

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when freedom is granted, it is bounded by responsibility: personal enjoyment (daytime roaming) must not compromise obligations to family and safety (ensuring Bhīma’s return each night).

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a swift-moving female being (manojavā), permitting daytime wandering at will, but instructing that Bhīmasena must be brought back every night—an explicit condition meant to maintain order and security.