Shloka 17

Devanagari script

ततोऊहं पांसुना छिद्रमपिधास्यामि पुत्रका: । एवं प्रतिकृतं मन्‍्ये ज्वलत: कृष्णवर्त्मन:,तुमलोगोंके घुस जानेपर मैं इस बिलका छेद धूलसे बंद कर दूँगी। बच्चो! मेरा विश्वास है, ऐसा करनेसे इस जलती आगसे तुम्हारा बचाव हो सकेगा

Transliteration

tato ’haṃ pāṃsunā chidram apidhāsyāmi putrakāḥ | evaṃ pratikṛtaṃ manye jvalataḥ kṛṣṇavartmanaḥ ||

Translation

Dann sagte sie: „Meine Kinder, sobald ihr hineingegangen seid, werde ich die Öffnung dieser Höhle mit Staub verschließen. Ich glaube, dass ich so der Gefahr angemessen begegne — euch vor dem lodernden Feuer schütze, dessen Bahn dunkel vom Rauch ist.“

Word by Word

ततःthen/from there

ऊहम्I

पांसुनाwith dust

छिद्रम्hole/opening

अपिधास्यामिI will cover/close

पुत्रकाःO children/sons

एवम्thus/in this way

प्रतिकृतम्a counter-action/retaliation (done in return)

मन्येI think/believe

ज्वलतःof the burning (one/thing)

कृष्णवर्त्मनःof the black-pathed (fire/smoke); i.e., dark-tracked

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)

putrakāḥ (children)

chidra (burrow/opening)

pāṃsu (dust/earth)

jvalat (fire)

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?

Protective action guided by clear judgment: in a crisis, one should use practical means to safeguard dependents, even if it requires personal effort and risk. The verse also hints at reciprocity—responding to danger with an effective countermeasure (pratikṛta).

What is happening in the narrative?

A mother figure addresses her children, instructing them to enter a burrow; she will then block the entrance with dust so that the advancing, smoke-dark fire cannot reach them.