Shloka 2

Devanagari script

मन्दप्राणगतिर्धीमान्‌ कृच्छादिव समुद्रहन्‌ । पदाति: स महीपालो जीर्णो गजपतिर्यथा,उस समय उनकी चलने-फिरनेकी शक्ति बहुत कम हो गयी थी। वे बुद्धिमान्‌ भूपाल बूढ़े हाथीकी भाँति पैदल चलते समय बड़ी कठिनाईसे पैर उठाते थे

Transliteration

mandaprāṇagatir dhīmān kṛcchād iva samudvahan | padātiḥ sa mahīpālo jīrṇo gajapatir yathā ||

Translation

વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—તે ધીમાન્ રાજાની પ્રાણગતિ મંદ પડી ગઈ હતી; તે કષ્ટથી આગળ વધતો હતો. તે ભૂપતિ હવે પગપાળા, વૃદ્ધ ગજપતિની જેમ, પગ ઉઠાવતાં પણ મુશ્કેલી અનુભવતો હતો.

Word by Word

मन्दप्राणगतिःhaving slow movement of vital breath (i.e., very feeble in motion)

धीमान्wise

कृच्छात्with difficulty

इवas/like

समुद्रहन्ocean-slaying (epithet; very powerful)

पदातिःon foot; a foot-goer

सःhe

महीपालःking (protector of the earth)

जीर्णःworn out; aged

गजपतिःlord of elephants; a great elephant

यथाas/just as

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

mahīpāla (the king)

gajapati (leader of elephants)

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 an ethical and spiritual reminder central to the Mahābhārata: worldly authority and strength are transient. Old age reduces even a king to frailty, encouraging humility, acceptance of consequences, and a turn toward detachment and renunciatory values.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes the king’s physical decline: his breath and strength are weak, and he walks with great effort, compared to an old elephant leader. It sets the tone for the forest-dwelling, end-of-life phase characteristic of the Āśramavāsika narrative.