Shloka 47

Devanagari script

तास्तु तामायतापाजुं पिशाच्यो दारुणस्वरा: । तर्जयन्ति सदा रौद्रा: परुषव्यज्जनस्वरा:,वे पिशाची स्त्रियाँ देखनेमें बड़ी भयंकर थीं। उनका स्वर अत्यन्त दारुण था। उनके मुखसे जो स्वर और व्यंजन निकलते थे, वे बड़े कठोर होते थे। वे राक्षसियाँ निम्नांकित बातें कहकर विशाल नेत्रोंवाली सीताको सदा डाँटती-फटकारती रहती थीं--

Transliteration

tāstu tām āyatāpāṅgīṃ piśācyo dāruṇasvarāḥ | tarjayanti sadā raudrāḥ paruṣavyajjanasvarāḥ ||

Translation

But those piśācī-women, dreadful to behold and harsh-voiced, continually threatened her. Fierce and cruel, the very sounds and syllables that issued from their mouths were hard and cutting—so they kept scolding and intimidating the wide-eyed lady without respite.

Word by Word

ताःthose (women)

तुbut/indeed

ताम्her

आयतापाङ्गीम्long-eyed (wide/elongated-eyed)

पिशाच्यःfemale piśācas/demonesses

दारुणस्वराःhaving dreadful voices

तर्जयन्तिthey threaten/berate

सदाalways

रौद्राःfierce/terrible

परुषव्यञ्जनस्वराःhaving harsh consonants and sounds (harsh utterance)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya (speaker)

Piśācī-women (female ghouls/demons)

the wide-eyed woman (implicitly Sītā in the narrative context)

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?

The verse highlights how cruelty often expresses itself through speech—harsh words and intimidation become instruments of harm. Ethically, it contrasts the aggressors’ violent conduct with the implied endurance and dignity of the threatened woman, underscoring the dharmic ideal of restraint in speech and compassion toward the vulnerable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes demonic women (piśācīs) surrounding a wide-eyed lady and repeatedly threatening and scolding her. Their voices and uttered syllables are portrayed as inherently harsh, emphasizing the atmosphere of terror and abuse.