Shloka 59

Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

एवं ब्रुवन्नेव स यातुधानै- हतो जगामाशु महीं क्षितीश: । ततो विदित्वा नृपतिं निपातित- मिक्ष्वाकवो वै दलमभ्यषिज्चन्‌,ऐसा कहते ही राजा शल उन राक्षसोंसे मारे जाकर तुरंत धराशायी हो गये। इक्ष्वाकुवंशी क्षत्रियोंकोी जब यह मालूम हुआ कि राजा मार गिराये गये, तब उन्होंने उनके छोटे भाई दलका राज्याभिषेक कर दिया

Transliteration

evaṁ bruvann eva sa yātudhānaiḥ hato jagāmāśu mahīṁ kṣitīśaḥ | tato viditvā nṛpatiṁ nipātitam ikṣvākavo vai dalam abhyasiñcan |

Translation

Aún hablando así, el rey —señor de la tierra— fue abatido con presteza por los rākṣasas y cayó al suelo. Entonces, cuando los kṣatriyas descendientes de Ikṣvāku supieron que su soberano había sido muerto, realizaron la consagración real e instalaron en el trono a su hermano menor, Dala.

Word by Word

• {'evaṁ': 'thus, in this manner', 'bruvan': 'speaking, saying', 'eva': 'indeed, just, even', 'yātudhānaiḥ': 'by yātudhānas (a class of rākṣasas/demonic beings)', 'hataḥ': 'slain, killed', 'jagāma': 'went, came to (here: came to the ground/fell)', 'āśu': 'quickly, swiftly', 'mahīm': 'the earth, ground', 'kṣitīśaḥ': 'king

• lord of the earth', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'viditvā': 'having known, upon learning', 'nṛpatim': 'the king', 'nipātitam': 'felled, struck down, brought low', 'ikṣvākavaḥ': 'the Ikṣvāku lineage/descendants', 'vai': 'indeed, surely (emphatic particle)', 'dalam': "Dala (proper name)

• also 'troop/part' in other contexts", 'abhyasiñcan': 'they anointed, consecrated (performed abhiṣeka)'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Markandeya
• kṣitīśa (the king)
• yātudhānas (rākṣasas)
• Ikṣvāku lineage (Ikṣvākavaḥ)
• Dala
• mahī (earth/ground)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when power collapses through sudden violence, dharma requires the community to preserve stability through rightful, orderly succession; kingship is impermanent, but the obligation to maintain social order endures.

What is happening in the narrative?

While the king is still speaking, rākṣasas (yātudhānas) slay him and he falls to the earth; upon learning of his death, the Ikṣvāku kṣatriyas consecrate his younger brother Dala as the new king.