Shloka 21

ययातिः शर्मिष्ठायाः ऋतुप्रार्थनां धर्मसंवादं च शृणोति

Yayāti and Śarmiṣṭhā: request in ṛtu and discourse on truth and dharma

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! द्विजश्रेष्ठ कच देवयानीसे ऐसा कहकर तत्काल बड़ी उतावलीके साथ इन्द्रलोकको चले गये

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca—Janamejaya! dvijaśreṣṭhaḥ Kacaḥ Devayānyai evam uktvā tatkālam eva mahā-utāvalyā Indralokaṃ jagāma.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Janamejaya, après avoir ainsi parlé à Devayānī, Kaca, le meilleur des deux-fois-nés, partit aussitôt — pressé par une grande urgence — vers le monde d’Indra.»

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

जनमेजयO Janamejaya

द्विजश्रेष्ठःthe best of the twice-born (Brahmin)

कचःKaca

देवयानीम्Devayānī

एवम्thus

उक्त्वाhaving said

तत्क्षणम्immediately

महताwith great (haste/urgency)

औत्सुक्येनwith eagerness/haste

इन्द्रलोकम्to Indra's world (Svarga)

जगामwent

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya

Kaca

Devayānī

Indraloka

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 underscores decisive action aligned with one’s larger duty: after completing his purpose and speaking plainly, Kaca does not linger in emotionally entangling circumstances, but promptly returns toward his rightful sphere, suggesting restraint and clarity in relationships and obligations.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Kaca, having said what he needed to Devayānī, immediately leaves in great haste and goes to Indra’s world, marking his swift departure from the episode’s personal tension back to the divine realm.