Shloka 2

Yayāti’s Abdication and Pūru’s Coronation (ययाति-पूोरु-राज्याभिषेकः)

Devanagari script

नाधर्मश्नरितो राजन्‌ सद्यः फलति गौरिव । शनैरावर्त्यमानो हि कर्तुर्मूलानि कृन्तति,“राजन! जो अधर्म किया जाता है, उसका फल तुरंत नहीं मिलता। जैसे गायकी सेवा करनेपर धीरे-धीरे कुछ कालके बाद वह ब्याती और दूध देती है अथवा धरतीको जोत- बोकर बीज डालनेसे कुछ कालके बाद पौधा उगता और यथासमय फल देता है, उसी प्रकार किया जानेवाला अधर्म धीरे-धीरे कर्ताकी जड़ काट देता है

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | nādharmaś carito rājan sadyaḥ phalati gaur iva | śanair āvartyamāno hi kartur mūlāni kṛntati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, wrongdoing does not yield its result at once—just as a cow does not immediately give milk. But when it keeps returning again and again, it slowly cuts down the very roots of the doer.”

Word by Word

नnot

अधर्मःunrighteousness, wrongdoing

चरितःdone, practiced, committed

राजन्O king

सद्यःimmediately, at once

फलतिbears fruit, yields result

गौरिवlike a cow

शनैःslowly, gradually

आवर्त्यमानःbeing turned back/returning (in course of time)

हिindeed, for

कर्तुःof the doer/agent

मूलानिroots, foundations

कृन्ततिcuts, severs

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājan (the King, i.e., Janamejaya as listener)

gauḥ (cow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Adharma may not produce immediate visible punishment, but repeated wrongdoing accumulates and eventually destroys the doer’s foundations—character, stability, and well-being—like roots being cut.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the frame dialogue, Vaiśampāyana instructs the king (Janamejaya) with a moral maxim: the fruits of unethical action are often delayed, yet they return over time and bring ruin to the agent.