Shloka 45

Devanagari script

यक्ष उवाच कि स्विदादित्यमुन्नयति के च तस्याभितकश्नचरा: । कश्नैनमस्तं नयति कम्मेंश्ष प्रतेतिष्ठति,यक्षने पूछा--सूर्यको कौन ऊपर उठाता (उदित करता) है? उसके चारों ओर कौन चलते हैं? उसे अस्त कौन करता है? और वह किसमें प्रतिष्ठित है?

Transliteration

yakṣa uvāca—kiṃ svid ādityam unnayati? ke ca tasyābhitaś carāḥ? kaś cainam astaṃ nayati? kasmin eṣa pratiṣṭhitaḥ?

Translation

Yaksha bertanya: “Dengan kekuatan apa Matahari terangkat saat fajar? Siapa yang bergerak mengelilinginya dari segala sisi? Siapa yang membuatnya terbenam? Dan pada apa ia pada akhirnya bersandar?”

Word by Word

यक्षःthe Yaksha

उवाचsaid

किम्what?

स्वित्indeed / pray (interrogative particle)

आदित्यम्the Sun (Aditya)

उन्नयतिraises / lifts up

केwho? (plural)

चand

तस्यof him/it (of the Sun)

अभितःaround

गच्छन्तिgo / move

चराःwanderers / movers

कःwho?

एनम्him (the Sun)

अस्तम्to setting (down) / into sunset

नयतिleads / takes

कस्मिन्in what?

एषःthis one (he)

प्रतितिष्ठतिstands firm / is established / rests

Speaker

यक्ष उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yaksha

Aditya (the Sun)

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 question frames the cosmos as an ordered system with underlying causes; it tests whether one can interpret visible events (sunrise, orbiting companions, sunset, resting-place) in terms of deeper sustaining principles aligned with dharma rather than mere appearances.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Yaksha’s interrogation (Yakṣa-praśna) in the forest, the Yaksha poses a sequence of riddling questions to Yudhiṣṭhira. This verse is one such question, aimed at assessing his insight into the forces and principles that govern the world.