Shloka 12

Devanagari script

स पपात तदा भूमौ रक्षोबलसमाहत: । विघूर्णमानो निश्रेष्टश्छिन्नममूल इव द्रुम:,राक्षसद्वारा बलपूर्वक आहत होकर कीचकके सारे शरीरमें चक्कर आ गया और वह जड़से कटे हुए वृक्षकी भाँति निश्चेष्ट होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा

Transliteration

sa papāta tadā bhūmau rakṣo-bala-samāhataḥ | vighūrṇamāno niśceṣṭaś chinnamūla iva drumaḥ ||

Translation

Then, struck down with overpowering force by the rākṣasa’s might, he reeled as dizziness seized his whole body and fell to the earth, motionless—like a tree cut off at the root. The scene underscores how brute aggression, when met by a stronger and more resolute power, collapses in an instant, exposing the fragility of pride and violence.

Word by Word

सःhe

पपातfell

तदाthen

भूमौon the ground

रक्षः-बल-समाहतःstruck by the strength of the Rakshasa

विघूर्णमानःreeling, whirling about

निश्चेष्टःmotionless

छिन्न-मूलःhaving the root cut off; uprooted

इवlike, as if

द्रुमःa tree

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rākṣasa (rakṣaḥ)

earth/ground (bhūmi)

tree (druma)

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 sudden collapse of arrogance and brute force when confronted by superior strength; violence rooted in pride proves unstable, falling as easily as a tree severed from its roots.

What is happening in the narrative?

A man is struck powerfully by a rākṣasa; he staggers in a daze, becomes inert, and drops to the ground, compared to a tree cut at the root.