Shloka 396

Devanagari script

दृष्टवा प्रमुदिता: काका विनेदुरधिकै: स्वरै: । कौआ विभिन्न उड़ानोंद्वारा दर्शकोंको आश्चर्य-चकित करनेकी इच्छासे अपने कार्योंका बखान करता जा रहा था। उस समय कौएकी विचित्र उड़ानोंको बारंबार देखकर दूसरे कौए बड़े प्रसन्न हुए और जोर-जोरसे काँव-काँव करने लगे

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā pramuditāḥ kākā vinedur adhikaiḥ svaraiḥ |

Translation

Seeing this, the crows became delighted and cried out in louder calls. The crow, wishing to astonish the onlookers by various flights, kept boasting of his feats as he went. And as the other crows watched those strange flights again and again, they grew exceedingly pleased and cawed loudly.

Word by Word

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

प्रमुदिताःdelighted, very pleased

काकाःcrows

विनेदुःcried out, cawed

अधिकैःwith louder/greater

स्वरैःwith voices/sounds

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

ह

हंस (haṃsa, swan)

क

काक (kāka, crow)

क

काकाḥ (crows)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how crowds may become excited by showy performance and respond with loud approval; ethically, it cautions against mistaking noisy praise for genuine merit and urges discernment over mere spectacle.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the swan’s discourse, the crows watch the crow’s display and, pleased by what they see, begin cawing loudly—signaling collective excitement and encouragement of the performer.