Shloka 31

गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः

Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings

Devanagari script

शयान धार॑राष्ट्र तु सलिले स्तम्भिते तदा

Transliteration

śayān dhārarāṣṭra tu salile stambhite tadā

Translation

Entonces Dhātarāṣṭra yacía allí, mientras el agua era contenida y quedaba inmóvil. En el relato de Nārada, esa imagen subraya que ni el poder ni el linaje de un rey pueden impedir que el cuerpo quede inerme ante el destino y las consecuencias de las propias decisiones.

Word by Word

• शयानः: lying down
• शयानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शी (धातु) → शय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धार्तराष्ट्रः: Dhritarashtra’s son (Duryodhana)
• धार्तराष्ट्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्तराष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• सलिले: in the water
• सलिले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• स्तम्भिते: when (it was) made still/immobilized
• स्तम्भिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तम्भ् (धातु) → स्तम्भित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तदा: then/at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhātarāṣṭra (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• water (salila)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse evokes helplessness before time and consequence: status and power cannot ultimately shield one from the results of actions and from mortality; ethical clarity and restraint matter more than pride or attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes Dhātarāṣṭra lying in/near water at a moment when the water is ‘stambhita’—checked or made still—setting a scene of suspension and vulnerability within the larger Shalya Parva narration.