Shloka 75

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

बाला क्षुधार्ता नारी च रक्ष्या त्वं सततं मया | उपवासपरिश्रान्ता त्वं हि बान्धवनन्दिनी

Transliteration

bālā kṣudhārtā nārī ca rakṣyā tvaṃ satataṃ mayā | upavāsapariśrāntā tvaṃ hi bāndhavanandinī ||

Translation

તું હજી બાળિકા છે, ભૂખથી પીડિત છે, નારી છે અને ઉપવાસ કરતાં કરતાં અત્યંત ક્ષીણ થઈ ગઈ છે; તેથી તારી રક્ષા કરવી મારી સદા ફરજ છે, કારણ કે તું પોતાની સેવાથી કુટુંબજનોને આનંદિત કરનારી છે.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bālā', 'definition': 'a young girl

• one needing care'}, {'term': 'kṣudhā', 'definition': 'hunger'}, {'term': 'kṣudhārtā', 'definition': 'afflicted/tormented by hunger'}, {'term': 'nārī', 'definition': 'woman'}, {'term': 'rakṣyā', 'definition': 'to be protected

• worthy of protection (gerundive)'}, {'term': 'satataṃ', 'definition': 'always

• continually'}, {'term': 'mayā', 'definition': 'by me

• on my part'}, {'term': 'upavāsa', 'definition': 'fasting

• religious abstinence from food'}, {'term': 'pariśrāntā', 'definition': 'exhausted

• greatly fatigued'}, {'term': 'hi', 'definition': 'indeed

• because (emphatic/causal particle)'}, {'term': 'bāndhava', 'definition': 'kinsman

• family member'}, {'term': 'nandinī', 'definition': 'one who delights

Speaker

श्षशुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• śvaśura (father-in-law, speaker)
• bālā (young girl, addressed woman)
• bāndhava (kinsfolk/relatives)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames protection as a dharmic obligation: when someone is young, hungry, physically weakened, and socially vulnerable, the guardian’s duty is continuous care. It also recognizes the moral worth of service that sustains family harmony.

What is happening in the narrative?

A father-in-law addresses a young woman who is suffering from hunger and exhaustion due to fasting, and he declares that he must always protect her, emphasizing her vulnerable condition and her role as a source of joy to the family.