Shloka 18

Adhyāya 203 — Tilottamā-sṛṣṭiḥ

Creation and Commissioning of Tilottamā

Devanagari script

स हीन: करणै: सर्वैरुच्छवासपरमो नृप: । अमात्यसंस्थ: सर्वेषु कार्येष्वेवाभवत्‌ तदा,उनकी कोई भी इन्द्रिय कार्य करनेमें समर्थ नहीं थी, वे (श्वासके रोगसे पीड़ित हो) एक स्थानपर पड़े-पड़े लंबी साँसें खींचा करते थे; अतः प्रत्येक कार्यमें उन्हें मनन्‍्त्रीके ही अधीन रहना पड़ता था

Transliteration

sa hīnaḥ karaṇaiḥ sarvair ucchvāsa-paramo nṛpaḥ | amātya-saṃsthaḥ sarveṣu kāryeṣv evābhavat tadā ||

Translation

Karna sprach: „Jener König, des Gebrauchs all seiner Fähigkeiten beraubt, lag da, beherrscht von mühsamem Atem. Darum war er damals in jeder Staatsangelegenheit gezwungen, sich auf seine Minister zu stützen.“

Word by Word

सःhe

हीनःdeprived, lacking

करणैःwith the organs (senses/instruments)

सर्वैःall

उच्छ्वासपरमःhaving (only) breathing as his chief activity; chiefly occupied with heavy breathing

नृपःthe king

अमात्यसंस्थःdependent on/under the control of ministers

सर्वेषुin all

कार्येषुin affairs, in tasks

एवindeed, only

अभवत्was, became

तदाthen, at that time

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

a king (unnamed in this verse)

ministers (amātya)

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 and practical reality that a ruler’s capacity is not absolute: when personal strength and faculties fail, governance shifts to advisers. It implicitly stresses the importance of competent, trustworthy ministers and the vulnerability of power to bodily decline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna describes a king who has become physically incapacitated—unable to use his faculties and struggling for breath—so that all affairs of the realm effectively fall under ministerial control.