Shloka 31

बक-राक्षसस्य आह्वानम् तथा वृक्षयुद्धम्

Summons of Baka and the Tree-Weapon Engagement

Devanagari script

अश्रिनाविव देवानां याविमौ रूपसम्पदा । तौ प्राकृतवदद्येमौ प्रसुप्ती धरणीतले,“जो अपनी रूप-सम्पत्तिसे देवताओंमें अश्विनीकुमारोंक समान जान पढ़ते हैं, वे ही ये दोनों नकुल-सहदेव आज यहाँ साधारण मनुष्योंके समान जमीनपर सोये पड़े हैं

Transliteration

aśvināv iva devānāṃ yāv imau rūpasampadā | tau prākṛtavad adya imau prasuptī dharaṇītale ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ces deux-là —dont la beauté et la perfection des traits les font paraître, parmi les dieux, tels les jumeaux Aśvin— gisent aujourd’hui ici, endormis sur la terre nue comme des hommes ordinaires.»

Word by Word

अश्विनाविवthe two Aśvins (Aśvinīkumāras), as/like

इवlike, as

देवानाम्of the gods

यौwho (two)

इमौthese two

रूपसम्पदाby (their) wealth of beauty / beauty-endowment

तौthose two

प्राकृतवत्like ordinary (people)

अद्यtoday, now

इमौthese two

प्रसुप्तीfallen asleep / sleeping

धरणीतलेon the surface of the earth / on the ground

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Aśvinau (Aśvinīkumāras)

Nakula

Sahadeva

dharaṇī (earth/ground)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the leveling truth that outward excellence—beauty, nobility, even near-divine resemblance—does not exempt anyone from ordinary human conditions. It evokes ethical reflection on humility, compassion, and the impermanence of status.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) points out Nakula and Sahadeva, famed for their striking beauty and likened to the divine Aśvin twins, now lying asleep on the ground like common men—an image meant to intensify the scene’s poignancy and realism.