Shloka 67

Devanagari script

राजोवाच इक्ष्वाकव: पश्यत मां गृहीतं न वै शक्‍्नोम्येष शरं विमोक्तुम्‌ । न चास्य कर्तु नाशमभ्युत्सहामि आयुष्मान्‌ वै जीवतु वामदेव:,राजा बोले--इक्ष्वाकुवंशी क्षत्रियो! देखो, मैं फँस गया। अब यह बाण नहीं छोड़ सकूँगा। इसलिये वामदेवको नष्ट करनेका उत्साह जाता रहा। अतः यह महर्षि दीर्घायु होकर जीवित रहे

Transliteration

rājovāca—ikṣvākavaḥ paśyata māṁ gṛhītaṁ na vai śaknomy eṣa śaraṁ vimoktum | na cāsya kartuṁ nāśam abhyutsahāmi āyuṣmān vai jīvatu vāmadevaḥ ||

Translation

Raja berkata, “Wahai keturunan Ikṣvāku, lihatlah—aku telah terjerat dan tertahan; sungguh aku tak mampu melepaskan anak panah ini. Dan aku pun tak lagi berani meniatkan kebinasaannya. Maka biarlah Vāmadeva, yang dianugerahi umur panjang, tetap hidup.”

Word by Word

• {'rājā uvāca': 'the king said', 'ikṣvākavaḥ': 'O descendant of Ikṣvāku

• member of the Ikṣvāku dynasty (vocative)', 'paśyata': 'see!, behold! (imperative, plural

• addressing onlookers)', 'mām': 'me', 'gṛhītam': 'seized, held fast, restrained', 'na vai': 'indeed not, certainly not', 'śaknomi': 'I am able', 'eṣaḥ śaram': 'this arrow', 'vimoktum': 'to release, to let fly', 'na ca': 'and not

• nor', 'asya': 'his / of him (here: of Vāmadeva)', 'kartuṁ': 'to do, to bring about', 'nāśam': 'destruction, death, ruin', 'abhyutsahāmi': 'I am eager/able to undertake

• I can bring myself to do', 'āyuṣmān': 'long-lived, endowed with life', 'jīvatu': 'let him live (benedictive/imperative)', 'vāmadevaḥ': 'Vāmadeva (name of the sage)'}

Speaker

वामदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Raja (the king)
• Ikṣvāku lineage (Ikṣvāku-vaṁśa)
• Vāmadeva
• śara (arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when armed and capable of violence, dharma may require restraint—especially toward a sage. The king’s inability (physical or moral) to release the arrow becomes an occasion for mercy, showing that righteous conduct includes checking anger and refusing unjust killing.

What is happening in the narrative?

The king addresses an Ikṣvāku-descended kṣatriya (or those present) and admits he is ‘caught’ and cannot shoot the arrow. His resolve to destroy Vāmadeva collapses, and he declares that the sage should live long—signaling a turning from aggression to protection.