Shloka 2

भरद्वाजपुत्रवधः

The Slaying of Bharadvāja’s Son and the Sage’s Lament

Devanagari script

त॑ सम दृष्टवा पुरा सर्वे प्रत्युत्तिष्ठन्ति पावका: । न त्वेनमुपतिष्ठन्ति हतपुत्र॑ं तदाग्नय:

Transliteration

taṃ samadṛṣṭvā purā sarve pratyuttiṣṭhanti pāvakāḥ | na tv enam upatiṣṭhanti hataputraṃ tadāgnayaḥ ||

Translation

Früher erhoben sich, sooft sie ihn erblickten, alle heiligen Feuer in ehrfürchtigem Gruß. Doch jetzt, da sie ihn ohne seinen Sohn sehen, erheben sich eben diese Feuer nicht mehr, um ihn zu ehren.

Word by Word

तेthey

सम्together

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

पुराformerly, earlier

सर्वेall

प्रत्युत्तिष्ठन्तिrise up to greet

पावकाःfires (Agni-deities)

नnot

तुbut

एनम्him

उपतिष्ठन्तिattend on, stand by, honor

हतपुत्रम्whose son is slain / bereaved of a son

तदाthen

अग्नयःfires, Agnis

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

pāvakāḥ (sacred fires)

agnayaḥ (fires)

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?

Ritual and moral order are portrayed as interconnected: when a person is struck by grievous, dharma-disrupting loss, even symbols of sacred stability (the fires) may cease to respond, indicating a withdrawal of auspiciousness and the need for restoration through right conduct and inner steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker contrasts past and present: earlier the sacred fires would rise in welcome upon seeing him, but now—because he is ‘hataputra’ (bereaved of his son)—the fires do not rise, functioning as an ominous sign and emphasizing the gravity of the bereavement.