Shloka 25

Dhanañjaya-viraha-śoka and the Resolve to Enter Gandhamādana (धनंजय-विरह-शोकः गन्धमादन-प्रवेश-संकल्पश्च)

Devanagari script

न च यानवता शक्यो गन्तुं देशो वृकोदर । न नृशंसेन लुब्धेन नाप्रशान्तेन भारत,भरतनन्दन! वृकोदर! उस प्रदेशमें किसी सवारीसे नहीं जाया जा सकता तथा जो क्र्र, लोभी और अशान्त है, ऐसे मनुष्यके लिये श्रद्धाकी कमीके कारण उस स्थानपर जाना असम्भव है

Transliteration

na ca yānavatā śakyo gantuṁ deśo vṛkodara | na nṛśaṁsena lubdhena nāpraśāntena bhārata ||

Translation

Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Oh Vṛkodara, esa región no puede alcanzarse con ningún vehículo. Tampoco puede alcanzarla quien sea cruel, codicioso o de ánimo inquieto, oh Bhārata: por falta de reverencia y disciplina interior, tal hombre no es apto para entrar en ese lugar».

Word by Word

नnot

चand

यानवताby/with a vehicle; by conveyance

शक्यःpossible, feasible

गन्तुम्to go

देशःregion, place

वृकोदरO Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

नnot

नृशंसेनby a cruel (person); with cruelty

लुब्धेनby a greedy (person); with greed

नnot

अप्रशान्तेनby one who is untranquil; with unrest

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Vṛkodara (Bhīma)

Bhārata (address/lineage epithet)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

External means (like vehicles or force) do not grant access to certain higher or sacred goals; eligibility depends on inner qualities—non-cruelty, freedom from greed, and calm self-mastery—supported by reverence and discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīma (Vṛkodara) while describing a particular region whose approach is not merely physical; he emphasizes that moral and mental disposition determines whether one can truly reach or enter it.