Shloka 16

Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 73 — Kr̥ṣṇa’s Appraisal of Bhīma’s Altered Temper and Reaffirmation of Martial Resolve

Devanagari script

सहजकश्नेदिमत्स्यानां प्रवीराणां वृषध्वज: । धारणभश्रन्द्रवत्सानां मुकुटानां विगाहन:,जैसे धर्मके विप्लवका समय उपस्थित होनेपर तेजसे प्रज्वलित होनेवाले समृद्धिशाली असुरोंमें भयंकर कलह उत्पन्न हुआ था, उसी प्रकार हैहयवंशमें मुदावर्त, नीपकुलमें जनमेजय, तालजंघोंके वंशमें बहुल, कृमिकुलमें उद्ण्ड वसु, सुवीरोंके वंशमें अजबिंदु, सुराष्ट्रकुलमें रुषद्धिक, बलीहवंशमें अर्कज, चीनोंके कुलमें धौतमूलक, विदेहवंशमें हयग्रीव, महौजा नामक क्षत्रियोंके कुलमें वरयु, सुन्दरवंशी क्षत्रियोंमें बाहु, दीप्ताक्षकुलमें पुरूरवा, चेदि और मत्स्यदेशमें सहज, प्रवीरवंशमें वृषध्वज, चन्द्रवत्सकुलमें धारण, मुकुटवंशमें विगाहन तथा नन्दिवेगकुलमें शम--ये सभी कुलांगार एवं नराधम क्षत्रिय युगान्तकाल आनेपर ऊपर बताये अनुसार भिन्न-भिन्न कुलोंमें प्रकट हुए थे

Transliteration

sahajakāś cedi-matsyānāṁ pravīrāṇāṁ vṛṣadhvajaḥ | dhāraṇo bhāśrāndravatsānāṁ mukuṭānāṁ vigāhanaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīma said: “In the lands of Cedi and Matsya there arose Sahaja; among the Pravīras, Vṛṣadhvaja; among the (so‑called) Cāndravatsa lineage, Dhāraṇa; and among the Mukuṭas, Vigāhana. Thus, as in times when dharma is overturned and the world’s order is shaken, fierce and ruinous forces flare up, so too do degraded kṣatriyas appear in various clans at the approach of an age’s end—bringing strife and moral collapse rather than protection.”

Word by Word

सहजSahaja (a proper name)

कश्नKaśna (proper name; reading uncertain)

चेदिCedi (proper name/people or country)

मत्स्यानाम्of the Matsyas

प्रवीराणाम्of the Pravīras

वृषध्वजःVṛṣadhvaja (one whose banner is a bull; proper name)

धारणDhāraṇa (proper name)

भश्रन्द्रवत्सानाम्of the Candravatsas (reading uncertain due to corruption)

मुकुटानाम्of the Mukuṭas (a clan/lineage; lit. 'crowns')

विगाहनःVigāhana (proper name)

Speaker

भीम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīma

Cedi

Matsya

Sahaja

Pravīra (clan)

Vṛṣadhvaja

Dhāraṇa

Cāndravatsa (clan; as read in the provided text)

Mukuṭa (clan)

Vigāhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical decay as a social and political phenomenon: when dharma is disrupted, rulers who should protect society instead become sources of conflict. Genealogical listing is used to mark the spread of such ‘age-ending’ degeneration across many lineages.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma is speaking within the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war context, invoking examples of notorious or ruinous kṣatriyas said to arise in different clans during times of upheaval, thereby warning of widespread disorder and the consequences of adharma.