Shloka 17

मधुकैटभवधोपाख्यानम्

The Account of the Slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha

Devanagari script

शतं वर्षसहस्राणि मुने जातस्य तेडनघ । समाख्याहि मम ब्रद्मयन्‌ कि दुःखं चिरजीविनाम्‌

Transliteration

śataṁ varṣa-sahasrāṇi mune jātasya te 'n-agha | samākhyāhi mama brahman kiṁ duḥkhaṁ cirajīvinām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh sabio sin mancha, has vivido cien mil años. Dime, oh brahmán: ¿qué tristeza hay para quienes viven largo tiempo?»

Word by Word

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वर्षसहस्राणि: thousands of years
• वर्षसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्षसहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• मुने: O sage
• मुने: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• जातस्य: of one who is born / having been born
• जातस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• ते: of you / your
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• अनघ: O sinless one
• अनघ: Sampradana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनघ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• समाख्याहि: tell, relate
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-ख्या
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मम: to me
• मम: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin (sage)
• ब्रह्मन्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• किम्: what?
• किम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• दुःखम्: sorrow, suffering
• दुःखम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःख
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• चिरजीविनाम्: of the long-lived
• चिरजीविनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चिरजीविन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• muni (sage)
• brahman (Brahmin sage)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into the paradox of longevity: whether long life brings greater wisdom and peace, or accumulates grief through witnessing loss, change, and the burdens of time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a venerable, long-lived sage and asks him to explain what kind of suffering is characteristic of those who live for an extraordinarily long time, setting up a reflective discourse on human experience and the weight of time.