Shloka 216

Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)

Devanagari script

असमर्थो5पसरणे सुकृशे मातरौ च ते । राजन्‌! सारा वन आगसे घिर गया और उन लोगोंपर बड़ा भारी संकट आ गया। उपवास करनेसे प्राणशक्ति क्षीण हो जानेके कारण राजा धृतराष्ट्र वहाँसे भागनेमें असमर्थ थे

Transliteration

asamartho 'pasaraṇe sukṛśe mātarau ca te | rājan |

Translation

Nārada dit : «Ô roi, il ne put s’enfuir ; et tes deux mères aussi, réduites à une extrême maigreur, ne purent se retirer. Le jeûne avait épuisé leurs forces, et lorsqu’un grand malheur survint dans la forêt, elles se trouvèrent sans pouvoir d’échapper.»

Word by Word

• असमर्थः: unable, incapable
• असमर्थः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असमर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपसरणे: in retreat/escape (in withdrawing)
• अपसरणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपसरण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• सुकृशे: very emaciated/very weak (two)
• सुकृशे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकृश
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• मातरौ: two mothers
• मातरौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातृ
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Dual

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ते: your
• ते: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• the two mothers of the addressee (Kuntī and Gāndhārī)
• forest (vana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores human frailty and impermanence: severe austerity and old age can leave one physically powerless, so ethical life must be grounded not only in resolve but also in awareness of bodily limits and the unpredictability of calamity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada reports to the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) that Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the two queens, weakened and emaciated—especially due to fasting—were unable to escape when a major संकट (calamity) arose in the forest, leading to their being trapped.