Shloka 56

Devanagari script

न मृष्याद्‌ भूशसंक्रुद्धो मां दृष्टया तु सशोणितम्‌ । विराटमिह सामात्यं हन्‍्यात्‌ सबलवाहनम्‌

Transliteration

na mṛṣyād bhūśaṁsaṁkruddho māṁ dṛṣṭvā tu saśoṇitam | virāṭam iha sāmātyaṁ hanyāt sabalavāhanam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wenn er mich hier blutüberströmt sähe und in wütenden Zorn geriete, unfähig es zu ertragen, könnte er König Virāṭa auf der Stelle erschlagen—mitsamt seinen Ministern, seinem Heer und mit Wagen und Reittieren.“

Word by Word

नnot

मृष्येत्would tolerate/forbear

भूशसंक्रुद्धःfuriously enraged

माम्me

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

तुbut/indeed

सशोणितम्bloodied, with blood

विराटम्Virata

इहhere

सामात्यम्together with his ministers

हन्यात्would kill/slay

सबलवाहनम्together with his forces and vehicles (chariots, etc.)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Virāṭa

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 highlights how uncontrolled anger, triggered by a shocking sight (a loved one seen bloodied), can escalate into disproportionate violence that harms not only an individual but an entire polity—king, ministers, and forces—underscoring the ethical need for restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a potential outcome: if a powerful person sees the speaker wounded and becomes intensely enraged, he may retaliate by killing King Virāṭa along with his ministers and military resources, indicating the dangerous stakes surrounding the incident.