Shloka 4

Yakṣa-saṃvāda: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Interrogation at the Guarded Water

Devanagari script

तत्रापश्यन्महाभागं शालवृक्षमुपाश्रितम्‌ । कौश्यां बृस्यां समासीन चक्षुहीनं नृपं तदा,वहाँ उन्होंने उन महाभाग नेत्रहीन नरेशको शालवृक्षके नीचे एक कुशकी चटाईपर बैठे देखा

Transliteration

tatrāpaśyan mahābhāgaṃ śālavṛkṣam upāśritam | kauśyāṃ bṛsyāṃ samāsīnaṃ cakṣu-hīnaṃ nṛpaṃ tadā ||

Translation

There they saw a most fortunate king, bereft of sight, seated at that time upon a mat of kuśa grass beneath the shelter of a śāla tree.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• अपश्यन्: they saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3, Plural, Parasmaipada

• महाभागम्: very fortunate/noble
• महाभागम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाभाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शालवृक्षम्: a śāla tree
• Type: Noun
• Root: शालवृक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उपाश्रितम्: having taken refuge at/leaning against
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उप-आ-श्रि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• कौश्याम्: on a kuśa-mat (kuśa-grass bedding)
• कौश्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौश्या
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• बृस्याम्: on a mat/seat
• बृस्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृस्या
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• समासीनम्: seated
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आस्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• चक्षुहीनम्: blind, without eyes
• चक्षुहीनम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चक्षुहीन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नृपम्: king
• नृपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तदा: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya (speaker)
• a blind king (nṛpa)
• śāla tree (śālavṛkṣa)
• kuśa-grass mat (kauśyā bṛsyā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dignity and steadiness amid misfortune: even a king, deprived of sight and comforts, can embody restraint and simplicity, pointing to an ethical ideal of endurance and inner composure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes a scene in which the observers come upon an illustrious blind king sitting on a kuśa-grass mat beneath a śāla tree, setting a tone of forest austerity and reflective encounter.