Shloka 19

अर्जुनस्य निवातकवचवधाय नियोगः

Arjuna’s commissioning for the Nivātakavacas

Devanagari script

यमस्य धातु: सवितुस्त्वष्ट्वै श्रवणस्य च । तानि प्राप्प सहस्राक्षादभिवाद्य शतक्रतुम्‌

Transliteration

yamasya dhātuḥ savitustvaṣṭvai śravaṇasya ca | tāni prāpya sahasrākṣād abhivādya śatakratum ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nachdem er jene Gaben von Sahasrākṣa (Indra) empfangen und Śatakratu (dem Herrn der hundert Opfer) die gebührende Ehrerbietung erwiesen hatte, erhielt er auch die ihm zugeteilten Anteile von Yama, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ und Śravaṇa (Kubera).

Word by Word

यमस्यof Yama

धातुःthe supporter/element; (here) a constituent

सवितुःof Savitṛ (the Sun-god)

त्वष्ट्वैto/for Tvaṣṭṛ

श्रवणस्यof Śravaṇa

चand

तानिthose (things)

प्राप्यhaving obtained/reached

सहस्राक्षात्from Sahasrākṣa (Indra, 'thousand-eyed')

अभिवाद्यhaving saluted/greeted

शतक्रतुम्Śatakratu (Indra, 'of a hundred rites')

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yama

Savitṛ

Tvaṣṭṛ

Śravaṇa (Vaiśravaṇa/Kubera)

Sahasrākṣa (Indra)

Śatakratu (Indra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power and endowments are portrayed as legitimate when received through proper channels—divine sanction, rightful allotment, and respectful homage—reflecting the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on dharma as ordered authority rather than mere force.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that the recipient (implied from context) obtains certain allotted powers/boons associated with deities like Yama, Savitṛ, Tvaṣṭṛ, and Śravaṇa, after receiving them from Indra (Sahasrākṣa/Śatakratu) and paying him due respect.