Shloka 39

Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections

Devanagari script

प्रत्युवाच तत: सा त॑ ब्राह्म॒णं चारुदर्शना

Transliteration

pratyuvāca tataḥ sā taṃ brāhmaṇaṃ cārudarśanā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Dann erwiderte jene anmutige Frau dem Brahmanen—ein Wendepunkt im Gespräch, an dem ihre Antwort beginnt, die moralische und erzählerische Richtung dieser Begebenheit zu bestimmen.

Word by Word

प्रत्युवाचreplied / spoke in return

ततःthen / thereafter

साshe

तंhim

ब्राह्मणंthe Brahmin

चारुदर्शनाof lovely appearance

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

brāhmaṇa

cārudarśanā (a fair-looking woman)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as a narrative hinge: it foregrounds the ethical weight of speech and response in dharma-discourse, indicating that the woman’s forthcoming reply will carry interpretive and moral significance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana reports that a fair-looking woman begins her reply to a brāhmaṇa, signaling the continuation of a dialogue or counsel scene within the Shalya Parva episode.