Shloka 19

Divodāsa–Mādhavī Saṃvāda: Pratardana-janma and Kanyā-niryātana (दिवोदास–माधवी संवादः / प्रतर्दन-जननम् / कन्या-निर्यातनम्)

Devanagari script

जातो नृप सुतस्ते5यं बालो भास्करसंनिभ:। कालो गन्तुं नरश्रेष्ठ भिक्षार्थमपरं नृपम्‌,“नरश्रेष्ठ नरेश! आपको यह सूर्यके समान तेजस्वी पुत्र प्राप्त हो गया। अब इस कनन्‍्याके साथ घोड़ोंकी याचना करनेके लिये दूसरे राजाके यहाँ जानेका अवसर उपस्थित हुआ है!

Transliteration

jāto nṛpa sutaste ’yaṃ bālo bhāskarasaṃnibhaḥ | kālo gantuṃ naraśreṣṭha bhikṣārtham aparaṃ nṛpam ||

Translation

Nārada dit : «Ô roi, ton fils est né—encore enfant, mais éclatant comme le soleil. À présent, ô meilleur des hommes, le temps est venu d’aller vers un autre souverain pour solliciter (en don) des chevaux.»

Word by Word

जातःborn

नृपO king

सुतःson

तेof you / your

अयम्this

बालःchild

भास्कर-संनिभःlike the sun

कालःtime / occasion

गन्तुम्to go

नरश्रेष्ठO best of men

भिक्षार्थम्for the sake of begging (alms/request)

अपरम्another

नृपम्king

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

the king addressed (nṛpa/naraśreṣṭha)

the newborn son

the sun (Bhāskara)

another king (apara nṛpa)

horses (implied by the narrative context of bhikṣā)

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 frames royal action as governed by kāla (the right time): personal joy (a son’s birth) is immediately linked to duty and strategic necessity—seeking resources (horses) through proper, socially sanctioned request rather than impulsive force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada informs a king that his radiant son has been born and urges him that the opportune moment has arrived to approach another ruler to solicit horses—setting up a diplomatic/strategic move connected with royal aims.