Shloka 47

Devanagari script

ततो मृगमिवाकाशे यथा देव: पिनाकधृक्‌ । ससार त॑ं तथा वीरो विधिवद्‌ यज्ञियं हयम्‌,जैसे पिनाकधारी महादेवजी आकाशमें मृगके पीछे दौड़े थे, उसी प्रकार वीर अर्जुनने उस यज्ञसम्बन्धी घोड़ेका विधिपूर्वक अनुसरण किया

Transliteration

tato mṛgam ivākāśe yathā devaḥ pinākadhṛk | sasāra taṃ tathā vīro vidhivad yajñiyaṃ hayam ||

Translation

Entonces, así como el dios que porta el arco Pināka (Śiva) se lanzó por el cielo en persecución de un ciervo, del mismo modo el héroe Arjuna, conforme al rito y a la regla, siguió al caballo sacrificial.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

मृगम्deer

इवlike, as

आकाशेin the sky

यथाas, just as

देवःthe god (Mahadeva)

पिनाकधृक्bearing Pinaka (Shiva)

ससारran, rushed

तम्him/that (one)

तथाso, in that manner

वीरःthe hero

विधिवत्according to rule, duly

यज्ञियम्sacrificial, pertaining to the sacrifice

हयम्horse

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Śiva (Pinākadhṛk)

Arjuna

yajñiya aśva (sacrificial horse)

ākāśa (sky)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes disciplined adherence to dharma: even a heroic pursuit is framed as vidhivat—performed under prescribed norms—because the horse is consecrated to a yajña. Power is legitimized by restraint and ritual duty rather than personal impulse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Arjuna setting out to follow the Aśvamedha horse. His swift pursuit is compared to Śiva (Pinākadhṛk) chasing a deer through the sky, highlighting Arjuna’s speed and resolve in fulfilling the sacrificial mission.