Shloka 23

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Śrāddha Request and Bhīma’s Objection (Āśramavāsika-parva, Adhyāya 17)

Devanagari script

ततो रात्र्यां व्यतीतायां कृतपूर्वाह्निकक्रिया:

Transliteration

tato rātryāṁ vyatītāyāṁ kṛtapūrvāhnikakriyāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Quand la nuit fut passée, après avoir accompli les rites du matin prescrits et, selon la règle, versé les oblations dans le feu sacré, ils avancèrent en bon ordre. Ils avaient jeûné toute la nuit et, le visage tourné vers le nord, ils poursuivirent leur route, le regard fixé dans cette direction.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• रात्र्याम्: in the night
• रात्र्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• व्यतीतायाम्: having passed, elapsed
• व्यतीतायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यतीत
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• कृत: having done, performed
• कृत: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पूर्वाह्निक: morning rite (daily morning duty)
• पूर्वाह्निक: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वाह्निक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• क्रियाः: acts, rites
• क्रियाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Agni (sacred fire)
• Uttara-diś (the northern direction)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined dharma in a renunciant setting: even while moving toward withdrawal from worldly life, one maintains purity through prescribed rites, self-restraint (fasting), and purposeful orientation (northward), suggesting inner resolve guided by tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the night ends, the group completes morning rituals and offers oblations into the fire. Having fasted overnight, they then proceed onward in an orderly manner, facing and looking toward the northern direction as they travel.