Shloka 66

Vāraṇāvata-prasaṃsā and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure (वरणावत-प्रशंसा तथा पाण्डव-प्रयाणम्)

Devanagari script

सौद्दं मे त्वया हयासीत्‌ पूर्व सामर्थ्यबन्धनम्‌ । नाक्रोत्रिय: श्रोत्रियस्थ नारथी रथिन: सखा

Transliteration

sauddhaṁ me tvayā hy āsīt pūrvaṁ sāmarthyabandhanam | nākrotriyaḥ śrotriyastha nārathī rathinaḥ sakhā ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Antaño, el lazo entre tú y yo fue una amistad fundada en la igualdad de capacidades: entonces nuestras fuerzas eran comparables. Pero ya no es así. Quien no es un śrotriya no puede ser en verdad compañero de un śrotriya; quien no es auriga no puede ser amigo de un gran guerrero del carro».

Word by Word

• {'sauddham': 'friendship

• companionship (bond of amity)', 'me': 'of me

• my', 'tvayā': 'with you (instrumental singular)', 'hi': 'indeed

• surely', 'āsīt': 'was', 'pūrvam': 'formerly

• earlier', 'sāmarthya': 'capacity

• competence', 'bandhanam': 'bond

• basis of attachment', 'na': 'not', 'a-śrotriyaḥ': 'one who is not a śrotriya (not learned/qualified in Veda and its discipline)', 'śrotriyastha': 'of/with a śrotriya (i.e., in relation to a Veda-knower)', 'a-rathī': 'one who is not a rathī (not a chariot-fighter/warrior of that class)', 'rathinaḥ': 'of a rathin (chariot-warrior)', 'sakhā': 'friend

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames friendship as sustained by shared qualification and comparable capability: intellectual companionship requires Vedic learning (śrotriya), and martial companionship requires matching warrior status (rathin). It highlights an ethic of propriety (yogyatā)—relationships are expected to align with one’s discipline, training, and station.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker reflects on a prior friendship that existed when both parties were equal in strength or competence, and then declares that the bond no longer holds because the parity (and thus the basis for companionship) has changed, illustrating a socially coded view of who can be considered a true peer or friend.