Shloka 25

Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु विरोधे देवदानवै:

Transliteration

etasminneva kāle tu virodhe devadānavaiḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “At that very time, amid the clash and hostility between the gods and the Dānavas…”

Word by Word

• एतस्मिन्: in this
• एतस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• काले: at (the) time
• काले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/and (emphatic)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• विरोधे: in the conflict
• विरोधे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विरोध
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• देवदानवैः: by the gods and the Danavas (demons)
• देवदानवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवदानव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Devas
• Dānavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as a moral-narrative marker: it highlights that conflict (virodha) arises at critical moments and frames war as a setting where dharma is tested—how one acts amid hostility becomes ethically significant.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator, Vaiśampāyana, introduces a scene by specifying the time and the condition—an active confrontation between the Devas and the Dānavas—preparing the listener for events that unfold within that atmosphere of enmity.