Shloka 13

Devanagari script

नीचाश्रयान्मत्सरेण द्वेषिणी गुणिनामपि । तेनासि बहुशो रूक्ष॑ं श्रावित: कुरुसंसदि,“तुम्हारा जन्म (कन्यावस्थामें ही कुन्तीके गर्भसे उत्पन्न होनेके कारण) धर्मलोपसे हुआ है; इसीलिये नीच पुरुषोंके आश्रयसे तुम्हारी बुद्धि इस प्रकार ईर्ष्यावश गुणवान्‌ पाण्डवोंसे भी द्वेष रखनेवाली हो गयी है और इसीके कारण कौरवसभामें मैंने तुम्हें अनेक बार कटुवचन सुनाये हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

nīcāśrayān matsareṇa dveṣiṇī guṇinām api |

tenāsi bahuśo rūkṣaṁ śrāvitaḥ kurusaṁsadi ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Weil du bei Niederträchtigen Zuflucht gesucht hast, ist dein Geist—vom Neid getrieben—selbst den Tugendhaften feind geworden. Darum musste man dich in der Versammlung der Kurus wieder und wieder harte, schneidende Worte hören lassen.“

Word by Word

नीचाश्रयात्from the refuge/support of low people

मत्सरेणby jealousy

द्वेषिणीhating, hostile

गुणिनाम्of the virtuous (people)

अपिeven, also

तेनtherefore; by that (reason)

असिyou are

बहुशःmany times, repeatedly

रूक्षम्harsh (speech/words)

श्रावितःmade to hear; caused to be told/hear (i.e., addressed)

कुरुसंसदिin the Kuru assembly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kuru assembly (Kuru-saṁsad)

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 links moral decline to bad association: taking shelter among the ignoble breeds envy, which then turns into hostility even toward the virtuous. Ethically, it warns that one’s company and inner jealousy shape one’s speech, reputation, and social consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses a listener and explains why that person has repeatedly been subjected to harsh rebukes in the Kuru court: their envy-driven animosity toward the virtuous is portrayed as arising from reliance on low company, leading to public censure in the assembly.