Shloka 35

दमयन्त्याः कार्यनिश्चयः — Damayantī’s Crisis Plan and Vārṣṇeya’s Departure

Devanagari script

प्रत्यक्षदर्शनं यज्ञे गतिं चानुत्तमां शुभाम्‌

Transliteration

pratyakṣadarśanaṃ yajñe gatiṃ cānuttamāṃ śubhām

Translation

Dijo Bṛhadaśva: «En el sacrificio hay realización directa y visible; y hay también un destino supremamente excelente y auspicioso que por él se alcanza.»

Word by Word

• प्रत्यक्षदर्शनम्: direct seeing/perception
• प्रत्यक्षदर्शनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रत्यक्षदर्शन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यज्ञे: in the sacrifice
• यज्ञे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• गतिम्: course/attainment/destination
• गतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अनुत्तमाम्: unsurpassed, excellent
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुत्तम
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शुभाम्: auspicious
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

बृहदश्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

• बृहदश्व (Bṛhadaśva)
• यज्ञ (yajña)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights yajña as a dharmic act whose fruits are twofold: some are immediately evident (pratyakṣa—seen in the present through tangible outcomes and social-religious order), and some culminate in an unsurpassed, auspicious destiny (anuttamā śubhā gati) as a longer-term moral and spiritual result.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bṛhadaśva, speaking within the Vana Parva context, underscores the value of sacrificial duty by emphasizing that ritual action is not merely theoretical: it yields visible benefits and also promises an excellent auspicious end-state, reinforcing confidence in dharma and its results.