Shloka 8

अध्याय ४ — द्वारकानिमित्तानि, प्रभासगमनम्, मौसलप्रारम्भः

Omens in Dvārakā, Journey to Prabhāsa, and the Musala Outbreak

Devanagari script

। ९ |! | स्त्रियो भवान्‌ रक्षतु न: समग्रा धनजञ्जयस्यागमनं प्रतीक्षन्‌ | रामो वनान्ते प्रतिपालयन्मा- मास्तेडद्याहं तेन समागमिष्ये,“तात! आप अर्जुनके आगमनकी प्रतीक्षा करते हुए हमारे कुलकी समस्त स्त्रियोंकी रक्षा करें। इस समय बलरामजी मेरी राह देखते हुए वनके भीतर बैठे हैं। मैं आज ही वहाँ जाकर उनसे मिलूँगा

Transliteration

striyo bhavān rakṣatu naḥ samagrā dhanañjayasyāgamanam pratīkṣan | rāmo vanānte pratipālayan mām āste ’dya ahaṃ tena samāgamiṣye |

Translation

“Wahai Ayah! Sambil menanti kembalinya Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), lindungilah semua perempuan dari wangsa kita tanpa terkecuali. Saat ini Balarāma tinggal di tepi rimba, menantikan aku; hari ini juga aku akan pergi ke sana dan menemuinya.”

Word by Word

[{'term''striyaḥ', 'meaning': 'women'}, {'term': 'bhavān', 'meaning': 'you (honorific)'}, {'term': 'rakṣatu', 'meaning': 'may (you) protect

let (you) guard'}, {'term''naḥ', 'meaning': 'our

of us'}, {'term''samagrāḥ', 'meaning': 'entire, all without remainder'}, {'term': 'dhanañjayasya', 'meaning': 'of Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)'}, {'term': 'āgamanam', 'meaning': 'arrival, coming'}, {'term': 'pratīkṣan', 'meaning': 'waiting for

expecting'}, {'term''rāmaḥ', 'meaning': 'Rāma (here: Balarāma)'}, {'term': 'vanānte', 'meaning': 'at the end/edge of the forest

in the forest outskirts'}, {'term''pratipālayan', 'meaning': 'looking after

attending to'}, {'term''mām', 'meaning': 'me'}, {'term': 'āste', 'meaning': 'is seated

stays'}, {'term''adya', 'meaning': 'today'}, {'term': 'aham', 'meaning': 'I'}, {'term': 'tena', 'meaning': 'with him'}, {'term': 'samāgamiṣye', 'meaning': 'I shall meet

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Rāma (Balarāma)

women of the clan

forest outskirts (vanānta)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharma as protective responsibility: in times of instability, safeguarding vulnerable members—here, the clan’s women—becomes a primary ethical duty, even while awaiting key leaders’ return.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker requests an elder/guardian to protect all the clan’s women while Arjuna’s arrival is awaited, and states that Balarāma is staying at the forest’s edge expecting him; he will go that very day to meet Balarāma.