Shloka 61

Devanagari script

वासवीं समरे शर्क्ति ध्रुवं मुज्चेद्‌ युधिष्ठिर । ततो भवेत्‌ ते व्यसन घोरं॑ भरतसत्तम

Transliteration

vāsavīṃ samare śaktiṃ dhruvaṃ muñced yudhiṣṭhira | tato bhavet te vyasanaṃ ghoraṃ bharatasattama ||

Translation

Wahai Yudhiṣṭhira, di medan laga ia pasti akan melemparkan tombak Vāsavī. Maka, wahai yang terbaik di antara keturunan Bharata, bencana yang mengerikan akan menimpamu.

Word by Word

वासवींthe Vasavī (Indra’s weapon/spear)

समरेin battle

शक्तिम्a spear/weapon

ध्रुवम्surely/certainly

मुच्येत्would release/let fly

युधिष्ठिरO Yudhiṣṭhira

ततःthen/thereupon

भवेत्would be/arise

तेto you/for you

व्यसनम्calamity/misfortune

घोरम्terrible

भरतसत्तमO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Yudhiṣṭhira

Vāsava (Indra)

Vāsavī Śakti (divine spear)

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 underscores the inevitability of consequences once a decisive, divinely empowered act is set in motion: when a supreme weapon is released, it brings unavoidable and grave results, testing one’s steadiness in dharma amid crisis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa warns Yudhiṣṭhira that in the coming battle a warrior will certainly cast the Vāsavī spear (Indra’s famed missile), and that its release will lead to a severe calamity for Yudhiṣṭhira and his side.