Shloka 31

गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः

Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings

Devanagari script

शयान धार॑राष्ट्र तु सलिले स्तम्भिते तदा

Transliteration

śayān dhārarāṣṭra tu salile stambhite tadā

Translation

Alors Dhātarāṣṭra gisait là, tandis que l’eau était retenue et rendue immobile. Dans le récit de Nārada, cette image rappelle que ni la puissance ni la lignée d’un roi ne peuvent empêcher le corps d’être réduit à l’impuissance par le destin et par les conséquences de ses propres choix.

Word by Word

• शयानः: lying down
• शयानः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शी (धातु) → शय (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धार्तराष्ट्रः: Dhritarashtra’s son (Duryodhana)
• धार्तराष्ट्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धार्तराष्ट्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• सलिले: in the water
• सलिले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• स्तम्भिते: when (it was) made still/immobilized
• स्तम्भिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्तम्भ् (धातु) → स्तम्भित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तदा: then/at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhātarāṣṭra (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• water (salila)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse evokes helplessness before time and consequence: status and power cannot ultimately shield one from the results of actions and from mortality; ethical clarity and restraint matter more than pride or attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes Dhātarāṣṭra lying in/near water at a moment when the water is ‘stambhita’—checked or made still—setting a scene of suspension and vulnerability within the larger Shalya Parva narration.