Shloka 16

Devanagari script

स चिन्तयन्नभ्यगच्छत्‌ सुबहुप्रसवान्‌ खगान्‌ । शार््धिकां शार््रिको भूत्वा जरितां समुपेयिवान्‌,यह सोचते हुए वे अधिक बच्चे देनेवाले पक्षियोंके यहाँ गये और शार्ज्रिक होकर जरिता नामवाली शार्डििकासे सम्बन्ध स्थापित किया

Transliteration

sa cintayann abhyagacchat subahuprasavān khagān | śārdhikāṃ śārdhiko bhūtvā jaritāṃ samupeyivān ||

Translation

In Gedanken bei seinem Vorhaben begab er sich zu den Vögeln, die für reichen Nachwuchs bekannt waren. Er nahm die Gestalt eines śārdhika (Männchen dieser Art) an, näherte sich Jaritā, der śārdhikā (Weibchen), und vereinigte sich mit ihr.

Word by Word

सःhe

चिन्तयन्thinking

अभ्यगच्छत्went to, approached

सुwell, very

बहु-प्रसवान्having many offspring (very prolific)

खगान्birds

शार्दिकाम्the female bird Śārdikā

शार्दिकःŚārdika (male bird)

भूत्वाhaving become

जरिताम्Jarītā (name of a female bird)

समुपेयिवान्approached, went to, joined

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Jaritā

śārdhika (bird-kind)

khaga (birds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 tension between an intended goal (securing progeny/continuity) and the chosen means (assuming another form and seeking union). In Mahābhārata’s ethical landscape, outcomes matter, but the manner of pursuing them also invites scrutiny regarding propriety, intention, and consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator says that the person in question, after deliberation, goes to a group of birds famed for many offspring. He takes on the form of a male śārdhika and approaches Jaritā, the female śārdhikā, establishing a conjugal connection with her to achieve the aim of begetting children.