Shloka 11

युधिष्ठिरस्य नगरप्रवेशः — चार्वाकप्रकरणं

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Entry into the City and the Cārvāka Episode

Devanagari script

स एष निहतः शेते ब्रह्मदण्डेन राक्षस: । चार्वाको नृपतिश्रेष्ठ मा शुचो भरतर्षभ,नृपश्रेष्ठ॒ भरतभूषण! अब आप शोक न करें। यह वही राक्षस चार्वाक ब्रह्मदण्डसे मारा जाकर पृथ्वीपर पड़ा है

Transliteration

sa eṣa nihataḥ śete brahmadaṇḍena rākṣasaḥ | cārvāko nṛpatiśreṣṭha mā śuco bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Vāyu sprach: „Dieser Rakṣasa, Cārvāka, liegt nun erschlagen da, getroffen vom brahma-daṇḍa, dem brahmanischen Strafstab. O bester der Könige, Stier unter den Bhāratas, betrübe dich nicht.“

Word by Word

सःhe/that one

एषःthis (one)

निहतःslain/killed

शेतेlies (down)

ब्रह्मदण्डेनby the Brahma-staff / divine curse-punishment

राक्षसःthe demon

चार्वाकःCharvaka

नृपति-श्रेष्ठO best of kings

माdo not

शुचःgrieve

भरत-ऋषभO bull of the Bharatas

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

Cārvāka

brahma-daṇḍa

Bharata lineage (addressed as Bharatarṣabha)

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 underscores that adharma—especially deceitful slander aimed at undermining righteous rule—cannot endure; it is ultimately restrained by the force of truth and the moral-spiritual authority symbolized by the brahma-daṇḍa. Therefore the king should not succumb to grief or doubt.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu informs the addressed king (implicitly Yudhiṣṭhira) that the impostor Cārvāka, described as a rākṣasa, has been struck down by the brahma-daṇḍa and now lies dead, and he urges the king to stop grieving.