Shloka 6

उद्योगपर्व (अध्याय १२९) — केशवस्य वैभवप्रदर्शनम् / Krishna’s Theophanic Display in the Kuru Assembly

Devanagari script

श्र॒त्वा गृहीतं वाष्णेयं पाण्डवा हतचेतस: । निरुत्साहा भविष्यन्ति भग्नदंष्टा इवोरगा:

Transliteration

śrutvā gṛhītaṃ vāṣṇeyaṃ pāṇḍavā hata-cetasaḥ | nirutsāhā bhaviṣyanti bhagna-daṃṣṭrā ivoragāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “On hearing that Vāṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa) has been seized, the Pāṇḍavas will lose heart and become dispirited—like serpents whose fangs have been broken.”

Word by Word

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भाव (active sense)

• गृहीतम्: seized/captured
• गृहीतम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वाष्णेयम्: the Vṛṣṇi-descendant (Krishna)
• वाष्णेयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाष्णेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पाण्डवाः: the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हतचेतसः: whose spirits are crushed / dejected
• हतचेतसः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हतचेतस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निरुत्साहाः: without enthusiasm, dispirited
• निरुत्साहाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निरुत्साह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भविष्यन्ति: will become / will be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), Third, Plural, परस्मैपद

• भग्नदंष्ट्राः: with broken fangs
• भग्नदंष्ट्राः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भग्नदंष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उरगाः: serpents
• उरगाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उरग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vāṣṇeya (Kṛṣṇa/Vāsudeva)
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the capture or removal of a key righteous leader and strategist can collapse morale and resolve in an allied cause. Ethically, it underscores the responsibility of protecting pivotal figures whose presence sustains courage and clarity, and it warns against tactics aimed at breaking spirit rather than meeting opponents openly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the anticipated effect of news that Kṛṣṇa (Vāṣṇeya) has been seized: the Pāṇḍavas would become mentally crushed and lose initiative, compared to snakes rendered harmless when their fangs are broken.