Shloka 29

Devanagari script

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थ हि प्रतिज्ैषा ममाव्यया । ब्रह्म सत्यं दम: शौचं धर्मों द्वी: श्रीर्धृति: क्षमा

Transliteration

dharmasaṁsthāpanārtha hi pratijñaiṣā mamāvyayā | brahma satyaṁ damaḥ śaucaṁ dharmo dvīḥ śrīr dhṛtiḥ kṣamā ||

Translation

Demi tegaknya dharma, inilah ikrarku yang tak pernah gugur: brahman (kebenaran suci), kebenaran, pengendalian diri, kemurnian, dharma, rasa malu (hri), kemakmuran (śrī), keteguhan (dhṛti), dan pemaafan (kṣamā).

Word by Word

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थम्for the purpose of establishing dharma

हिindeed/for

प्रतिज्ञाvow/promise

ममof me/my

अव्ययाunfailing/unchanging

ब्रह्मBrahman/the Absolute

सत्यम्truth

दमःself-control

शौचम्purity/cleanliness

धर्मःdharma/righteousness

द्वीःthe earth/island (dvī)

श्रीःprosperity/splendor

धृतिःsteadfastness/fortitude

क्षमाforbearance/forgiveness

Speaker

श्रीवायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma-restoration as grounded in an unwavering vow that is expressed through a cluster of virtues: spiritual integrity (brahma), truthfulness, self-restraint, purity, steadfastness, auspicious prosperity, fortitude, and forgiveness—implying that ethical order is upheld by disciplined inner qualities, not merely by external power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva speaks, declaring his imperishable resolve aimed at re-establishing dharma, and he enumerates the virtues that constitute and sustain that resolve, situating the ongoing events within a moral and spiritual framework.