Shloka 20

Devanagari script

एवं बहुविधैर्वाक्यैर्याच्यमानस्तया नृपः । नाश्रददथच्छाल्वपति: कन्यायां भरतर्षभ,भरतभूषण! इस तरह नाना प्रकारके वचनोंद्वारा बार-बार याचना करनेपर भी शाल्वराजने उस कन्याकी बातोंपर विश्वास नहीं किया

Transliteration

evaṁ bahuvidhair vākyair yācyamānas tayā nṛpaḥ | nāśraddadhac chālvapatiḥ kanyāyāṁ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : Ô taureau parmi les Bhārata, bien qu’elle l’implorât sans cesse par des paroles de maintes sortes, le seigneur de Śālva n’accorda aucune foi aux mots de la jeune fille.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

बहु-विधैःby many kinds (of)

वाक्यैःby words/speeches

याच्यमानःbeing entreated/begged

तयाby her

नृपःthe king

नnot

अश्रद्दधत्did not believe

अथthen/indeed

शाल्व-पतिःthe lord/king of the Śālvas

कन्यायाम्in/with regard to the maiden

भरत-ऋषभO bull among the Bharatas

भरत-भूषणO ornament of the Bharatas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Shalva (king of Shalva)

the maiden (kanyā)

Bharatas (as a lineage epithet)

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 highlights the ethical tension between persuasion and credibility: even repeated, varied pleading may fail when trust is absent. It implicitly stresses that truthful speech must be supported by perceived reliability, and that rulers’ judgments often hinge on śraddhā (confidence) as much as on words.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that a maiden repeatedly appeals to the Śālva king with many arguments, but despite her entreaties he refuses to believe her claim or statement, remaining unconvinced.