Shloka 55

Devanagari script

नदीगतमदीनात्मा प्राप्तो विनशनं तदा

Transliteration

nadīgatamadīnātman prāpto vinaśanaṃ tadā

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then, having entered the river, and with his spirit no longer shaken by fear or agitation, he reached Vinaśana.

Word by Word

• नदीगतः: gone into the river / river-entered
• नदीगतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नदीगत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मदीनात्मा: one whose self was intoxicated (deluded)
• मदीनात्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मदीनात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्राप्तः: having reached / reached
• प्राप्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप्
• Form: Perfective (Past participle), Singular, Masculine, Nominative

• विनशनम्: destruction / ruin
• विनशनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनशन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• nadī (river)
• Vinaśana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights adīnatā—refusing inner collapse in the face of grief. Ethical strength is shown as steadiness of mind: one proceeds through places associated with destruction not with panic or despair, but with composure and purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that the person being described enters the river and then arrives at a location called Vinaśana, a place whose very name evokes destruction or disappearance, situating the journey within the somber landscape of the war’s aftermath.