Shloka 38

Devanagari script

।। कदाचित्‌ विजयस्याहमस्त्रहेतोरटन्नूप,“नरेश्वरर एक समयकी बात है, मैं शस्त्रोंके अभ्यासके लिये विजय नामक एक ब्राह्मणगके आश्रमके आसपास विचरण कर रहा था। उस समय घोर एवं भयंकर बाण चलाते हुए मैंने अनजानमें ही असावधानीके कारण उस ब्राह्मणकी होमधेनुके बछड़ेको एक बाणसे मार डाला

Transliteration

kadācit vijayasyāham astrahetoḥ aṭann ūpa, narēśvara, eka-samayakī bāta hai, maiṁ śastrōṁ-kē abhyāsa-kē liye vijaya nāmaka ēka brāhmaṇa-kē āśrama-kē āsapāsa vicaraṇa kara rahā thā. usa samaya ghōra evaṁ bhayaṅkara bāṇa calātē huē maiṁnē ajān mēṁ hī asāvadhānī-kē kāraṇa usa brāhmaṇa-kī hōmadhēnū-kē bacṛē-kō ēka bāṇa-sē māra ḍālā.

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, einst, als ich zum Zwecke der Waffenübung in der Nähe der Einsiedelei eines Brahmanen namens Vijaya umherstreifte, schoss ich wilde und schreckliche Pfeile. In meiner Unwissenheit, aus bloßer Unachtsamkeit, traf und tötete ich mit einem einzigen Pfeil das Kalb der Opferkuh (homadhenu) jenes Brahmanen.“

Word by Word

• कदाचित्: once, at some time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कदाचित्

• विजयस्य: of (a person named) Vijaya
• विजयस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विजय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: Nominative, Singular

• अस्त्रहेतोः: for the purpose of weapons (practice)
• अस्त्रहेतोः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्रहेतु
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• अटन्: I was roaming/wandering
• Type: Verb
• Root: अट्
• Form: Imperfect, First, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhritarashtra (addressed as nareśvara)
• Vijaya (a Brahmin)
• Brahmin's āśrama (hermitage)
• astra/śastra (weapons)
• bāṇa (arrow)
• homadhenu (sacrificial cow)
• calf (vatsa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even unintended harm caused by negligence carries moral weight. The verse highlights that martial skill must be governed by vigilance and dharma, especially near sacred spaces and beings protected by religious duty (such as a homadhenu).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya recounts an incident from the past: while practicing archery near the hermitage of a Brahmin named Vijaya, he carelessly shoots and kills the calf of the Brahmin’s sacrificial cow with an arrow.