Shloka 10

Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)

Devanagari script

पश्यन्तः स्त्रीगणास्तत्र वज्रपाणिं सम मेनिरे । अयं स पुरुषव्यात्रो रणे वसुपराक्रम:

Transliteration

paśyantaḥ strīgaṇās tatra vajrapāṇiṃ sama menire | ayaṃ sa puruṣavyāghro raṇe vasuparākramaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Während sie ihn betrachteten, hielten die dort versammelten Frauen ihn für Vajrapāṇi gleich (Indra, den Träger des Donnerkeils). „Dies ist der Tiger unter den Menschen“, dachten sie—einer, dessen Kraft im Kampf so furchtbar ist wie die der Vasus—und brachten so ihr Staunen über heroische Stärke und das im Epos gefeierte Kriegerideal zum Ausdruck.

Word by Word

पश्यन्तःseeing

स्त्रीगणाःgroups of women

तत्रthere

वज्रपाणिम्Vajrapāṇi (Indra; 'he whose hand holds the thunderbolt')

सम्indeed / altogether (intensifier)

मेनिरेthey thought / considered

अयम्this (man)

सःhe

पुरुषव्याघ्रःtiger among men / best of men

रणेin battle

वसुपराक्रमःone whose prowess is like that of the Vasus / having Vasu-like valor

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

strīgaṇa (womenfolk)

Vajrapāṇi (Indra)

Vasus

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how heroic reputation is formed through public perception: valor in battle is praised as an ideal, and extraordinary human strength is measured against divine archetypes (Indra, the Vasus), reinforcing the epic’s cultural ethic of kṣātra-tejas (martial excellence).

What is happening in the narrative?

Women onlookers observe a renowned warrior and, struck by his appearance and prowess, liken him to Indra (Vajrapāṇi) and acclaim him as a ‘tiger among men’ whose battlefield might matches that of the Vasus.