Shloka 20

सुभद्राहरणम्

Subhadrā-haraṇa: Arjuna’s Taking of Subhadrā and the Dvārakā Assembly’s Response

Devanagari script

अधर्मो वै महानस्तु वने वा मरणं मम । शरीरस्य विनाशेन धर्म एव विशिष्यते,“चाहे राजाके तिरस्कारसे मुझे नियमभंगका महान्‌ दोष प्राप्त हो अथवा वनमें ही मेरी मृत्यु हो जाय तथापि शरीरको नष्ट करके भी गौ-ब्राह्मण-रक्षारूप धर्मका पालन ही श्रेष्ठ है!

Transliteration

adharmo vai mahān astu vane vā maraṇaṁ mama | śarīrasya vināśena dharma eva viśiṣyate |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Let a great charge of unrighteousness befall me for breaking a rule due to a king’s contempt, or let me even die in the forest; even at the cost of this body’s destruction, the protection of dharma—especially the safeguarding of cows and brāhmaṇas—alone is the higher course.”

Word by Word

• अधर्मः: unrighteousness, adharma
• अधर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed, surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• महान्: great
• महान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्तु: let it be
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Imperative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• वने: in the forest
• वने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• मरणम्: death
• मरणम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• मम: of me, my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• शरीरस्य: of the body
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• विनाशेन: by destruction
• विनाशेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• धर्मः: dharma, righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• एव: only, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• विशिष्यते: is distinguished, excels
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + शिष्
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• forest (vana)
• king (rājā, implied in the cited gloss)
• cow (go, implied in the cited gloss)
• brāhmaṇa (implied in the cited gloss)