Shloka 4

Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)

Devanagari script

यः समुत्पतितं हर्ष दैन्यं वा न नियच्छति । स नश्यति श्रियं प्राप्य पात्रमाममिवाम्भसि

Transliteration

yaḥ samutpatitaṁ harṣaṁ dainyaṁ vā na niyacchati | sa naśyati śriyaṁ prāpya pātram āmam ivāmbhasi ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Celui qui ne retient ni l’allégresse soudaine ni l’abattement soudain est perdu, quand bien même il aurait atteint la prospérité—tel un vase d’argile non cuit qui, bien qu’ayant forme, se dissout dès qu’on le met dans l’eau.

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समुत्पतितम्: arisen, sprung up
• समुत्पतितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective/Participle
• Root: सम्-उत्-√पत् (to arise/spring up) → समुत्पतित (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• हर्षम्: joy, elation
• हर्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दैन्यम्: dejection, misery
• दैन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• नियच्छति: restrains, controls
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√यम् (to restrain) (वर्त्तमान-लट्)
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नश्यति: perishes, is ruined
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (to perish) (वर्त्तमान-लट्)
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्रियम्: fortune, prosperity, royal splendor
• श्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• Type: Verbal Indeclinable (Gerund)
• Root: प्र-√आप् (to obtain) → प्राप्य (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerund (absolutive)

• पात्रम्: vessel, pot
• पात्रम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आमम्: raw, unbaked (earthen)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अम्भसि: in water
• अम्भसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• śrī (prosperity/fortune)
• āmam pātram (unbaked clay vessel)
• ambhas (water)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prosperity is sustained by self-control: one must restrain sudden surges of joy and dejection; otherwise, even gained fortune leads to ruin, like an unbaked clay pot dissolving in water.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana delivers a moral instruction in the form of a vivid simile, warning that uncontrolled emotional reactions can destroy a person’s stability even after they attain success or royal fortune.