Shloka 3

Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच स कदाचिन्महाबाहु: प्रभूतनलवाहन:,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--एक समयकी बात है, महाबाहु राजा दुष्यन्त बहुत-से सैनिक और सवारियोंको साथ लिये सैकड़ों हाथी-घोड़ोंसे घिरकर परम सुन्दर चतुरंगिणी सेनाके साथ एक गहन वनकी ओर चले

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | sa kadācin mahābāhuḥ prabhūta-nara-vāhanaḥ śataśo hastibhir aśvaiś ca parivṛtaḥ paramasundarāṃ caturaṅgiṇīṃ senām ādāya gahanaṃ vanaṃ prati jagāma |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Un jour, le roi Duṣyanta, aux bras puissants, accompagné d’abondantes troupes et de nombreux équipages, entouré de centaines d’éléphants et de chevaux, se mit en route avec sa splendide armée aux quatre corps vers une forêt profonde et dense.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid/spoke

सःhe

कदाचित्once/sometime

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed one

प्रभूतabundant/many

नलof reeds (nala)

वाहनःhaving/using as conveyance

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

King Duṣyanta

caturaṅgiṇī senā (fourfold army)

elephants

horses

forest (vana)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the outward completeness of royal power—troops, mounts, and disciplined organization—while implicitly setting up the ethical idea that true kingship is tested not by display of force but by conduct and responsibility when circumstances change (here, entering the forest).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes King Duṣyanta departing with a splendid fourfold army, surrounded by many elephants and horses, proceeding toward a dense forest—an opening movement that leads into the forest episode central to Duṣyanta’s story.