Shloka 43

Devanagari script

प्रायच्छद्‌ द्विषतां हन्त्रीं कुण्डलाभ्यां पुरंदर: । यस्य सर्पमुखो दिव्य: शर: काउज्चनभूषण:

Transliteration

prāyacchad dviṣatāṁ hantrīṁ kuṇḍalābhyāṁ purandaraḥ | yasya sarpamukho divyaḥ śaraḥ kāñcanabhūṣaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Purandara (Indra) bestowed, in exchange for the pair of earrings, that enemy-slaying weapon—an arrow of divine power, serpent-mouthed in form and adorned with gold.”

Word by Word

प्रायच्छत्gave, bestowed

द्विषताम्of the enemies

हन्त्रीम्slayer (female), destroyer

कुण्डलाभ्याम्with (his) two earrings

पुरंदरःPurandara (Indra)

यस्यwhose

सर्पमुखःsnake-faced (having a serpent-like mouth)

दिव्यःdivine

शरःarrow

काञ्चनभूषणःgold-ornamented, having golden adornment

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Purandara (Indra)

kuṇḍala (earrings)

divya śara (divine arrow)

sarpa-mukha (serpent-mouthed weapon form)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical ambiguity of ‘giving’ when it occurs within manipulation and wartime strategy: a gift or exchange can appear virtuous yet function as a means to empower violence, showing how dharma can be tested by context, intention, and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Indra (Purandara) grants an enemy-destroying divine arrow—serpent-mouthed and gold-adorned—in connection with the exchange involving a pair of earrings, situating the weapon’s origin within a consequential bargain.