Shloka 23

Nahūṣa’s Fall Explained: Agastya’s Account to Indra (Śalya-narrated)

Devanagari script

गन्धर्वा देवकन्याश्ष सर्वे चाप्सरसां गणा: । सरांसि सरित: शैला: सागराक्ष विशाम्पते

Transliteration

gandharvā devakanyāś ca sarve cāpsarasāṃ gaṇāḥ | sarāṃsi saritaḥ śailāḥ sāgarākṣa viśāṃ pate ||

Translation

Śalya said: “O lord of men, O ocean-eyed one, the Gandharvas, the celestial maidens, and all the hosts of Apsarases—along with lakes, rivers, mountains, and seas—(stand as witnesses to this matter).”

Word by Word

• गन्धर्वाः: Gandharvas (celestial musicians)
• गन्धर्वाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• देवकन्याः: daughters of the gods (celestial maidens)
• देवकन्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवकन्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अप्सरसाम्: of the Apsarases (celestial nymphs)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्सरस्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• गणाः: groups, hosts
• गणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सरांसि: lakes, ponds
• सरांसि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शैलाः: mountains
• शैलाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सागराक्ष: O sea-eyed one (epithet; likely addressing the king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागराक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Gandharvas
• Devakanyās (celestial maidens)
• Apsarases
• lakes (sarāṃsi)
• rivers (saritaḥ)
• mountains (śailāḥ)
• oceans/seas (sāgarāḥ)
• addressee: viśāṃ pati (a king/lord of men)
• epithet: sāgarākṣa (ocean-eyed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores moral accountability: one’s words and decisions—especially in royal counsel—are not merely private or political but stand before a wider order, as if witnessed by divine beings and the very landscape. This reinforces the ethical weight of truthfulness and righteous resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya addresses a king (vocatively, “lord of men,” “ocean-eyed”) and invokes celestial beings (Gandharvas, Apsarases, divine maidens) and natural features (lakes, rivers, mountains, seas) as encompassing witnesses, intensifying the seriousness of the counsel or declaration being made in the Udyoga Parva setting.