Shloka 19
Devanagari script
यदि द्वादशवर्षाणि न वर्षेष्यति वासव:
Transliteration
yadi dvādaśavarṣāṇi na varṣeṣyati vāsavaḥ |
Translation
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “If Vāsava (Indra) should not send rain for twelve years…”
Word by Word
यदिif
यदि:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयदि
द्वादशवर्षाणिtwelve years (as a duration)
द्वादशवर्षाणि:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootद्वादशवर्ष
FormNeuter, Accusative, Plural
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
वर्षेष्यतिwill rain
वर्षेष्यति:
TypeVerb
Rootवृष्
FormSimple Future (Luṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada
वासवःVāsava (Indra)
वासवः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवासव
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VaiśaṃpāyanaV
Vāsava (Indra)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
The line frames rainfall as a pillar of social and moral order: when the cosmic function of rain fails (symbolized by Indra), the stability of agriculture, sacrifice, and public welfare is threatened, implying that rulers and communities must respond with dharmic responsibility in times of scarcity.
Vaiśaṃpāyana introduces a conditional scenario—Indra withholding rain for twelve years—setting up a discussion or episode about drought, its consequences, and the appropriate dharmic response to a prolonged failure of rains.