Shloka 57

Devanagari script

हिया च परया5<विष्टो भवन्तं नाधिगच्छति

Transliteration

hriyā ca parayāviṣṭo bhavantaṃ nādhigacchati

Translation

And, overcome by intense modesty and shame, he does not approach you. The line shows how moral restraint and self-consciousness can keep a person from stepping forward, even when a grave moment calls for speech or action.

Word by Word

हियाby (his) mind/understanding

चand

परयाby the highest/supreme (intellect)

आविष्टःpossessed/overcome (by)

भवन्तम्you (honorific)

नnot

अधिगच्छतिattains/reaches/understands

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana (speaker)

bhavantam (honorific 'you'—addressee unspecified in this pāda)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to hrī (modest shame) as a powerful ethical emotion: it can restrain wrongdoing and preserve dignity, yet it can also inhibit necessary communication or action when one feels overwhelmed by embarrassment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes someone who, seized by intense shame, does not go near the addressed person ('you'). It functions as a narrative explanation for a character’s hesitation or failure to approach and speak in a tense context.