Shloka 31

Duryodhana Seized by Citraseṇa; Kaurava Petition to Yudhiṣṭhira (दुर्योधनापहारः / चित्रसेनगन्धर्वग्रहणम्)

Devanagari script

कुमाराश्च कुमार्यश्न ये प्रोक्ता: स्कन्दसम्भवा: । तेडपि गर्भभुज: सर्वे कौरव्य सुमहाग्रहा:,कुरुनन्दन! स्कन्दके शरीरसे उत्पन्न हुए जिन कुमार एवं कुमारियोंका वर्णन किया गया है, वे सभी गर्भस्थ बालकोंका भक्षण करनेवाले महान्‌ ग्रह हैं

Transliteration

kumārāś ca kumāryaś ca ye proktāḥ skanda-sambhavāḥ | te 'pi garbha-bhujaḥ sarve kauravya su-mahā-grahāḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „O Spross der Kurus, jene Knaben und Mädchen, die als aus Skanda hervorgegangen beschrieben werden, sind allesamt mächtige Grahas, ‘Ergreifer’, die die Leibesfrucht im Mutterleib verzehren.“

Word by Word

कुमाराःboys, youths

चand

कुमार्यःgirls, maidens

येwho, which

प्रोक्ताःsaid, described

स्कन्दसम्भवाःborn of Skanda

तेthey, those

अपिalso, even

गर्भभुजःeaters of embryos (womb-dwellers)

सर्वेall

कौरव्यO descendant of Kuru

सुमहाग्रहाःvery great grahas (seizing spirits)

कुरुनन्दनO joy of the Kurus

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Skanda

Kauravya (Kuru-descendant addressee)

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 frames certain ‘Skanda-born’ beings as dangerous grahas that harm the unborn, underscoring a dharmic duty to protect life at its most vulnerable and to respond to unseen harms through vigilance and proper, righteous observances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya continues a description of Skanda-associated beings, identifying the previously mentioned boys and girls as powerful grahas—malevolent afflictors—whose specific activity is consuming embryos in the womb.