Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 16

Adhyaya 71The King’s Remorse and the Sage’s Counsel on the Necessity of a Wife

राजोवाच सा नीता केन पातालमास्ते सदूषिता कथम् । अत्यद्भुतमिदं ब्रह्मन् ! यथावद्वक्तुमर्हसि ॥

rājovāca sā nītā kena pātālam āste sadūṣitā katham / aty-adbhutam idaṃ brahman yathāvad vaktum arhasi

Dijo el rey: «¿Por quién fue llevada para morar en Pātāla? ¿Cómo ha sido mancillada? Esto es sumamente maravilloso, oh brāhman: explícalo debidamente».

राजाthe king
राजा:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootराजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन
उवाचsaid
उवाच:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootवच् (धातु)
Formलिट् (Perfect), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद
साshe
सा:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
नीताhas been taken
नीता:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootनी (धातु)
Formक्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन
केनby whom
केन:
Karana/Agent (करण/कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootकिम् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd case), एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक सर्वनाम
पातालम्to Pātāla (netherworld)
पातालम्:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootपाताल (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd case), एकवचन
आस्तेstays, remains
आस्ते:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootआस् (धातु)
Formलट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद
साshe
सा:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootतद् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
दूषिताhas been corrupted/defiled
दूषिता:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootदूष् (धातु)
Formक्त (past passive participle), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन
कथम्how
कथम्:
Avyaya (अव्यय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकथम् (अव्यय)
Formप्रश्नवाचक अव्यय (interrogative adverb of manner)
अतिvery, exceedingly
अति:
Avyaya (अव्यय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअति (अव्यय)
Formउपसर्ग/अव्यय; तीव्रार्थक (intensifier)
अद्भुतम्wonderful, astonishing
अद्भुतम्:
Visheshana (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Rootअद्भुत (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; विशेषण (to इदम्)
इदम्this
इदम्:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootइदम् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formनपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st case), एकवचन; सर्वनाम
ब्रह्मन्O Brahmin (sage)
ब्रह्मन्:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
TypeNoun
Rootब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन
यथावत्properly, as it is
यथावत्:
Avyaya (अव्यय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथावत् (अव्यय)
Formअव्यय; प्रकारवाचक (adverb: properly)
वक्तुम्to tell
वक्तुम्:
Prayojana (प्रयोजन)
TypeVerb
Rootवच् (धातु)
Formतुमुन् (infinitive), अव्ययभाव
अर्हसिyou ought (are fit)
अर्हसि:
Kriya (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Rootअर्ह् (धातु)
Formलट् (Present), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद
King → Sage

{ "primaryRasa": "adbhuta", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Causality (who did it?)Purity and defilementNetherworld loreRequest for authoritative explanation

FAQs

Wonder (adbhuta) becomes a doorway to inquiry: the king seeks not gossip but causal clarity and moral assessment (agency and ‘pollution’), a prerequisite for right restitution.

Narrative progression toward an explanatory sub-story; may segue into loka/pātāla description or a demon/being’s action, but here it remains within ethical dialogue rather than a core pañcalakṣaṇa catalog.

The question ‘who took her’ mirrors the inner search for the force that drags the mind downward—desire, fear, pride, or delusion; ‘defilement’ points to how contact with such forces stains discernment.