Shloka 131

Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)

Devanagari script

अभिभूय स मां बालां तेजसा वशमानयत्‌ । तमसा लोकमावृत्य नौगतामेव भारत

Transliteration

abhibhūya sa māṃ bālāṃ tejasā vaśam ānayat | tamasā lokam āvṛtya naugatām eva bhārata ||

Translation

Having overpowered me—then still a young girl—he brought me under his control by the force of his splendor. Shrouding the world in darkness, O Bhārata, he carried me off as one would seize a woman already embarked in a boat—swiftly and beyond resistance.

Word by Word

• अभिभूय: having overpowered
• अभिभूय: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि√भू
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, —, —, —

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• माम्: me
• माम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• बालाम्: a young girl
• बालाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाला
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तेजसा: by (his) power/splendor
• तेजसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• वशम्: into control
• वशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आनयत्: brought
• आनयत्: Kriyā
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√नी
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तमसा: with darkness
• तमसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• लोकम्: the world
• लोकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आवृत्य: having covered
• आवृत्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√वृ
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, —, —, —

• नौगताम्: one who has gone into a boat (boat-borne)
• नौगताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नौगता
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव
• Form: true

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana (speaker)
• Bhārata (addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical violation: overpowering a vulnerable person through sheer force and deception (darkness). It implicitly condemns coercion and the misuse of tejas (power) when it is turned into domination rather than protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker recounts an abduction: a powerful man subdues the narrator, described as a young girl, and carries her off after enveloping the surroundings in darkness—likened to taking away someone already set in a boat, i.e., quickly and without effective resistance.