Shloka 32

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

Devanagari script

तासामेव तु पत्नीनां पतयस्ते प्रकीर्तिता: । आजायमानान्‌ गृह्नन्ति बालकान्‌ रौद्रकर्मिण:,वे कुमार उन्हीं पत्नीस्वरूपा कुमारियोंके पति कहे गये हैं। उनके कर्म बड़े भयंकर हैं। वे जन्म लेनेके पहले ही बच्चोंको पकड़ ले जाते हैं

Transliteration

tāsām eva tu patnīnāṃ patayas te prakīrtitāḥ | ājāyamānān gṛhṇanti bālakān raudrakarmiṇaḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Eben diese Wesen gelten als die ‘Gatten’ jener gattenhaften Mädchen. Ihre Taten sind wild und schrecklich: Sie packen die Kinder, noch ehe sie geboren sind, ja schon im Augenblick des Hervorkommens.“

Word by Word

तासाम्of those

एवindeed/only

तुbut/and

पत्नीनाम्of the wives

पतयःhusbands/lords

तेthey/those

प्रकीर्तिताःare declared/are spoken of

आtowards/unto (prefix-like particle here)

जायमानान्being born/newly born

गृह्णन्तिthey seize/take

बालकान्children/boys

रौद्रकर्मिणःof dreadful deeds

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya (speaker)

patnī (wives/maiden-like women)

patayaḥ (husbands/consorts—demonic beings implied)

bālaka (infants/children)

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 frames a moral warning: forces characterized by cruel, violent action prey upon the most vulnerable (newborns). It implicitly upholds dharma as protection of life and condemns raudra (fierce, harmful) conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes terrifying beings identified as the ‘husbands’ of certain maiden-like wives; these beings are said to snatch away children at the very moment of birth, emphasizing the horror and urgency of safeguarding offspring.