Shloka 25

Devanagari script

न च यानवता शक्यो गन्तुं देशो वृकोदर । न नृशंसेन लुब्धेन नाप्रशान्तेन भारत,भरतनन्दन! वृकोदर! उस प्रदेशमें किसी सवारीसे नहीं जाया जा सकता तथा जो क्र्र, लोभी और अशान्त है, ऐसे मनुष्यके लिये श्रद्धाकी कमीके कारण उस स्थानपर जाना असम्भव है

Transliteration

na ca yānavatā śakyo gantuṁ deśo vṛkodara | na nṛśaṁsena lubdhena nāpraśāntena bhārata ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Vṛkodara, that region cannot be reached by any conveyance. Nor can it be reached by one who is cruel, greedy, or untranquil, O Bhārata—for lack of inner reverence and discipline such a person is unfit to enter that place.”

Word by Word

नnot

चand

यानवताby/with a vehicle; by conveyance

शक्यःpossible, feasible

गन्तुम्to go

देशःregion, place

वृकोदरO Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

नnot

नृशंसेनby a cruel (person); with cruelty

लुब्धेनby a greedy (person); with greed

नnot

अप्रशान्तेनby one who is untranquil; with unrest

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

Bhārata (address/lineage epithet)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

External means (like vehicles or force) do not grant access to certain higher or sacred goals; eligibility depends on inner qualities—non-cruelty, freedom from greed, and calm self-mastery—supported by reverence and discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīma (Vṛkodara) while describing a particular region whose approach is not merely physical; he emphasizes that moral and mental disposition determines whether one can truly reach or enter it.