Shloka 18

उत्पातदर्शनम् — Portents and Kāla among the Vṛṣṇis

Devanagari script

कः क्षत्रियो5हन्यमान: सुप्तान्‌ हन्यान्मृतानिव । तन्न मृष्यन्ति हार्दिक्य यादवा यत्‌ त्वया कृतम्‌

Transliteration

kaḥ kṣatriyo ’hanyamānaḥ suptān hanyān mṛtān iva | tan na mṛṣyanti hārdikya yādavā yat tvayā kṛtam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «¿Qué kṣatriya, al ser atacado, abatiría a hombres dormidos, como si ya estuvieran muertos? ¡Oh Hārdikya! Los Yādavas no pueden soportar lo que has hecho».

Word by Word

कःwho?

क्षत्रियःa warrior (kshatriya)

अहन्यमानःbeing struck / being killed

सुप्तान्sleeping (ones)

हन्यात्should kill / would kill

मृतान्dead (ones)

इवas if / like

तत्that (act)

नnot

मृष्यन्तिthey tolerate / they forgive

हार्दिक्यO Hārdikya (descendant of Hṛdika)

यादवाःthe Yādavas

यत्which (deed)

त्वयाby you

कृतम्done / committed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman)

Yādavas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in warfare, kṣatriya conduct is constrained by dharma: killing the sleeping is portrayed as adharma—an act akin to murdering the already dead—inviting moral outrage and retaliation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana censures Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman) for a deed described as killing sleeping men; the Yādavas are said to be unable to tolerate this act, foreshadowing escalating conflict and vengeance.