Shloka 231

Devanagari script

दृष्टवा कुमारं जात॑ सा वार्ष्णेयी दीनमानसा । एकाग्रं चिन्तयामास कि कृत्वा सुकृतं भवेत्‌

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā kumāraṃ jātā sā vārṣṇeyī dīnamānasā | ekāgraṃ cintayāmāsa kiṃ kṛtvā sukṛtaṃ bhavet ||

Translation

À la vue de ce nouveau-né, la femme Vārṣṇeyī—le cœur accablé de détresse—fixa son esprit en une pensée unique, se demandant quel acte accomplir afin qu’il en naquît un mérite véritable (sukṛta).

Word by Word

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

कुमारम्the boy/young prince

जाताम्born; having been born (i.e., newly delivered)

साshe

वार्ष्णेयीthe Vārṣṇeyī woman (a woman of the Vṛṣṇi lineage)

दीनमानसाwith a distressed mind

एकाग्रम्with one-pointed (focus); intently

चिन्तयामासshe thought/pondered

किम्what

कृत्वाhaving done

सुकृतम्merit; a good deed

भवेत्might be / would become

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)

व

वार्ष्णेयी (Vārṣṇeyī)

क

कुमार (newborn boy)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even under distress, one should pause and reflect with a focused mind on what action will truly count as sukṛta (merit)—i.e., what aligns with dharma rather than impulse, fear, or self-interest.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator says that a woman identified as Vārṣṇeyī sees a newborn boy and, feeling sorrowful, concentrates and deliberates about what she should do next so that her action becomes a genuinely virtuous deed.