Shloka 8

नारदकथितं माधव्याः तपश्चर्या–ययातेः स्वर्गविचारः | Nārada on Mādhavī’s Asceticism and the Scrutiny of Yayāti in Heaven

Devanagari script

अपराण्यपि चत्वारि शतानि द्विजसत्तम | नीयमानानि संतारे हृतान्यासन्‌ वितस्तया

Transliteration

aparāṇy api catvāri śatāni dvijasattama | nīyamānāni saṃtāre hṛtāny āsan vitastayā ||

Translation

Nārada said: “O best of the twice-born, at one point on the road there was a river-crossing. Besides those six hundred horses, there were four hundred more. While they were being taken across at the ford, those four hundred were swept away by the fierce current of the Vitastā.”

Word by Word

• अपराणि: other (additional) ones
• अपराणि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• चत्वारि: four
• चत्वारि: Karma
• Type: Adjective (Numeral)
• Root: चतुर् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• द्विजसत्तम: O best of the twice-born (brahmin)
• Type: Noun (Vocative address)
• Root: द्विजसत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नीयमानानि: being led/taken
• Type: Verb (Participle)
• Root: नी (धातु) + शानच् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural, Passive (being led)

• संतारे: at the crossing (ford/passage)
• संतारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संतार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• हृतानि: carried away/snatched away
• Type: Verb (Past participle)
• Root: हृ (धातु) + क्त (भूतकृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• आसन्: were
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• वितस्तया: by the Vitastā (Jhelum river)
• वितस्तया: Karana
• Type: Noun (Proper noun: river)
• Root: वितस्ता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• dvijasattama (addressed brāhmaṇa)
• Vitastā (Jhelum river)
• horses

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even carefully planned undertakings can be undone by uncontrollable forces; the passage underscores the fragility of worldly resources and the need for prudence and humility when pursuing power or preparing for conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada recounts a logistical setback during a journey: while crossing the Vitastā at a ford, four hundred additional horses—beyond an earlier count of six hundred—are swept away by the river’s strong current.