Shloka 21

Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)

Devanagari script

समाविद्धे वने तस्मिन्‌ प्राप्ते व्यसन उत्तमे । निराहारतया राजन्‌ मन्दप्राणविचेष्टित:

Transliteration

samāviddhe vane tasmin prāpte vyasane uttame | nirāhāratayā rājan mandaprāṇaviceṣṭitaḥ ||

Translation

Nārada said: “O King, when that forest was ablaze and the gravest calamity had come upon them, he—deprived of food—moved only with faint, failing breaths.”

Word by Word

• समाविद्धे: in (the forest) that was pierced/struck (by calamity/fire etc.)
• समाविद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-विद् (धातु) → समाविद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्राप्ते: when (it) had come/arrived; upon occurrence
• प्राप्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-आप् (धातु) → प्राप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• व्यसने: in calamity/misfortune
• व्यसने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यसन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• उत्तमे: in the extreme/most severe (one)
• उत्तमे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• निराहारतया: by fasting; due to lack of food
• निराहारतया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निराहारता (निर्-आहार + ता)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• मन्दप्राणविचेष्टितः: one whose movements were feeble, with weakened life-breath
• मन्दप्राणविचेष्टितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द-प्राण-विचेष्टित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• King (rājan)
• forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of embodied life and the inevitability of suffering even for the great; it frames calamity as a moment that tests endurance and detachment, highlighting the ethical gravity of accepting hardship with steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada narrates a crisis: a forest is burning, a severe disaster has struck, and a principal figure is so weakened by lack of food that he can barely move, his life-breath and efforts reduced to a faint minimum.