Shanti Parva Adhyaya 4 Shloka 7 - Mahabharata | Gujarati | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 7

Nārada’s Account of the Kaliṅga Svayaṃvara: Duryodhana’s Seizure and Karṇa’s Escort

Devanagari script

शृगालश्न महाराज: स्त्रीराज्याधिपतिश्न यः । अशोक: शतधन्वा च भोजो वीरश्न नामत:

Transliteration

nārada uvāca | śṛgālaś ca mahārājaḥ strīrājyādhipatiś ca yaḥ | aśokaḥ śatadhanvā ca bhojo vīraś ca nāmataḥ | śiśupālaḥ jarāsandho bhīṣmako vakraḥ kapotaromā nīlaḥ sudṛḍhaparākramī rukmī ca |

Translation

નારદે કહ્યું—મહારાજ, શ્રીગાલ નામનો એક રાજા હતો અને ‘સ્ત્રીરાજ્ય’નો એક અધિપતિ પણ હતો; અશોક, શતધન્વા, ભોજ અને વીર નામનો પરાક્રમી પણ હતો. તેમ જ શિશુપાલ, જરાસંધ, ભીષ્મક, વક્ર, કપોતરોમા, નીલ અને દૃઢ પરાક્રમી રુક્મી પણ હતા.

Word by Word

शृगालःŚṛgāla (proper name)

महाराजःgreat king

स्त्रीराज्याधिपतिःlord of the kingdom of women

चand

यःwho

अशोकःAśoka (proper name)

शतधन्वाŚatadhanvā (lit. 'having a hundred bows'; proper name)

चand

भोजःBhoja (proper name)

वीरःVīra (proper name / 'hero')

नामतःby name

शिशुपालःŚiśupāla (proper name)

जरासन्धःJarāsandha (proper name)

भीष्मकःBhīṣmaka (proper name)

वक्रःVakra (proper name / 'crooked')

कपोतरोमाKapotaromā (lit. 'having pigeon-like hair/feathers'; proper name)

नीलःNīla (proper name / 'blue, dark')

सुदृढःvery firm/strong

पराक्रमीvaliant, mighty

रुक्मीRukmī (proper name)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Śṛgāla

Strīrājya (women’s kingdom)

Aśoka

Śatadhanvā

Bhoja

Vīra

Śiśupāla

Jarāsandha

Bhīṣmaka

Vakra

Kapotaromā

Nīla

Rukmī

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 functions as an ethical reminder through enumeration: many rulers attain power and notoriety, but their names ultimately stand as examples assessed by dharma; fame is unstable, and moral consequence outlasts political might.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is speaking and reciting a catalogue of kings/warriors—Śṛgāla, a ruler of the ‘women’s kingdom,’ Aśoka, Śatadhanvā, Bhoja, Vīra, and others such as Śiśupāla and Jarāsandha—within a broader Shānti Parva discourse that uses historical-epic exempla to instruct on righteous conduct and governance.