Shloka 296

Devanagari script

परित्यज्य गता: शूरा: प्रेतराजनिवेशनम्‌ । वे सब शूरवीर भूपाल अपने पिताओं, पत्नियों, प्राणों और मनको प्रिय लगनेवाले भोगोंका परित्याग करके यमलोकको चले गये

Transliteration

parityajya gatāḥ śūrāḥ pretarājaniveśanam |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ayant renoncé à tout ce qui les liait à la vie du monde, les héros partirent vers la demeure du Seigneur des défunts, Yama. Autrement dit : ces rois guerriers, délaissant l’attachement aux pères, aux épouses, à leur propre vie et aux plaisirs chers à l’esprit, gagnèrent le royaume de Yama.»

Word by Word

परित्यज्यhaving abandoned

गताःwent / having gone

शूराःheroes, brave men

प्रेतराज-निवेशनम्the abode of the lord of the departed (Yama)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

śūrāḥ (heroic warriors/kings)

Yama (Pretarāja)

Pretarājaniveśana (Yamaloka)

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 underscores impermanence and the ethical necessity of detachment: even the brave and powerful must relinquish attachments—relationships, pleasures, and life itself—and face the ordained passage to Yama’s domain, reminding the listener to live with dharma rather than clinging.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the heroic men (warrior-kings) depart for Pretarāja’s abode—Yama’s realm—signifying their death and transition beyond the human world after abandoning worldly ties and enjoyments.