Shloka 25

Devanagari script

सहदेवो मया नित्यं नकुलश्न निवारितौ । शक्तौ विध्वंसने तेषां शत्रूणां भीमविक्रमौ,“भयंकर पराक्रमी नकुल और सहदेव उन सब शत्रुओंका विध्वंस करनेमें समर्थ हैं। इन दोनोंको मैं ही सदा रोकता आया हूँ

Transliteration

sahadevo mayā nityaṃ nakulaś ca nivāritau | śaktau vidhvaṃsane teṣāṃ śatrūṇāṃ bhīmavikramau ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Nakula and Sahadeva—both of them, of terrible prowess—are fully capable of destroying those enemies. Yet it is I who have always restrained them.”

Word by Word

सहदेवःSahadeva

मयाby me

नित्यम्always

नकुलःNakula

चand

निवारितौrestrained/held back

शक्तौable, capable (the two)

विध्वंसनेin destroying

तेषाम्of those

शत्रूणाम्of enemies

भीमविक्रमौof terrible prowess (the two)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Nakula

Sahadeva

enemies (śatravaḥ)

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 highlights the ethical value of restraint: even when one has the power to destroy enemies, wise leadership may hold that power back for a larger strategic or dharmic purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Nakula and Sahadeva as fearsome and fully capable of crushing the enemy, but says that he has consistently restrained them—implying a deliberate check on immediate violence in favor of controlled action.