Shloka 13

Bhārata-varṣa-varṇana

Description of Bhārata: Mountains, Rivers, and Janapadas

Devanagari script

तेजसाल्पेन संयुक्ता: क्रोधना: पुरुषा नूप । लुब्धा अनृतकाश्वैव तिष्ये जायन्ति भारत,भरतनन्दन! कलियुगमें जन्म लेनेवाले लोग प्रायः: अल्प-तेजस्वी, क्रोधी, लोभी तथा असत्यवादी होते हैं

Transliteration

tejasālpēna saṁyuktāḥ krodhanāḥ puruṣā nṛpa | lubdhā anṛtakāś caiva tiṣye jāyanti bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, im Zeitalter Tiṣya (Kali) werden Menschen mit nur geringer innerer, geistiger und sittlicher Strahlkraft geboren; sie sind jähzornig, von Gier getrieben und der Unwahrheit zugetan.“

Word by Word

तेजसाwith/by (their) vigor

अल्पेनsmall, little

संयुक्ताःendowed/associated (with)

क्रोधनाःwrathful

पुरुषाःmen, people

नृपO king

लुब्धाःgreedy, covetous

अनृतकाःspeakers of untruth, liars

चand

एवindeed, just

तिष्येin (the age of) Tiṣya

जायन्तिare born, arise

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhārata (dynastic epithet)

Tiṣya (Kali-yuga)

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 teaches that Kali-yuga is marked by diminished tejas (inner moral-spiritual strength), leading to anger, greed, and untruth; it warns that ethical life requires greater vigilance when such tendencies dominate society.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is addressing King Dhṛtarāṣṭra and characterizing the nature of people born in the Kali age (Tiṣya), describing a general decline in virtues as part of a broader reflection within Bhīṣma Parva.