Shloka 30

Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

तमेवंवादिनमिष्टजनशोकपरीतात्मा राजा-थोवाच,राजाका हृदय अपनी प्यारी रानीके विनाशके शोकसे दग्ध हो रहा था। उन्होंने उपर्युक्त बातें कहनेवाले मण्डूकराजसे कहा--

Transliteration

tam evaṁ-vādinaṁ iṣṭa-jana-śoka-parītātmā rājā ’tho ’vāca | rājñaḥ hṛdayaṁ svāṁ priyāṁ rājñīṁ vinaṣṭāṁ śocan duḥkhena dagdhaṁ babhūva | sa uparyuktāni vacāṁsi vadantaṁ maṇḍūka-rājaṁ pratyuvāca —

Translation

Lalu sang raja, jiwanya diliputi duka atas orang-orang terkasih dan hatinya hangus oleh kesedihan atas lenyapnya permaisuri tercinta, menjawab Raja Katak yang berkata demikian—

Word by Word

तम्him

एवम्thus

वादिनम्the speaker

इष्टजनशोकपरीतात्माwhose self was overwhelmed by grief for dear people

राजाthe king

अथthen

उवाचsaid

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

the King (unnamed here)

the Queen (beloved consort, unnamed here)

Maṇḍūka-rāja (frog-king)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical and psychological reality of grief: even a king, expected to be steady and discerning, can be inwardly consumed by personal loss. It sets the stage for a response where sorrow, duty, and moral reasoning will be tested in dialogue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king—overwhelmed by grief at his queen’s death—turns to reply to the frog-king (Maṇḍūka-rāja) who has just spoken. This verse functions as a transition into the king’s answer.