Shloka 25

Śakuntalā’s Satya-Discourse and the Recognition of Bharata (शकुन्तला–सत्योपदेशः; भरतप्रतिग्रहः)

Devanagari script

लोड्यमानं महारण्यं तत्यजु: सम मृगाधिपा: । तत्र विद्रुतयूथानि हतयूथपतीनि च,असीम पराक्रमवाले राजा गदा घुमानेकी कलामें अत्यन्त प्रवीण थे। अतः वे तोमर, तलवार, गदा तथा मुसलोंकी मारसे स्वेच्छापूर्वक विचरनेवाले जंगली हाथियोंका वध करते हुए वहाँ सब ओर विचरने लगे। अदभुत पराक्रमी नरेश और उनके युद्ध-प्रेमी सैनिकोंने उस विशाल वनका कोना-कोना छान डाला। अतः सिंह और बाघ उस वनको छोड़कर भाग गये। पशुओंके कितने ही झुंड, जिनके यूथपति मारे गये थे, व्यग्र होकर भागे जा रहे थे और कितने ही यूथ इधर-उधर आर्तनाद करते थे। वे प्याससे पीड़ित हो सूखी नदियोंमें जाकर जब जल नहीं पाते, तब निराशासे अत्यन्त खिन्न हो दौड़नेके परिश्रमसे क्लान्तचित्त होनेके कारण मूर्च्छित होकर गिर पड़ते थे। भूख, प्यास और थकावटसे चूर-चूर हो बहुत-से पशु धरतीपर गिर पड़े

Transliteration

loḍyamānaṃ mahāraṇyaṃ tatyajuḥ sama-mṛgādhipāḥ | tatra vidruta-yūthāni hata-yūthapatīni ca ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: As that vast forest was being violently scoured and harried, the lords of beasts—lions and tigers—abandoned it and fled. There, many herds ran in panic, their leaders slain; other groups, scattered and distressed, cried out as they fled. The passage underscores how unchecked martial force, when turned upon the natural world, produces fear, disorder, and suffering among the innocent—an implicit ethical warning about the collateral harm of power used without restraint.

Word by Word

लोड्यमानम्being (violently) shaken/harassed (uncertain)

महा-अरण्यम्the great forest

तत्यजुःthey abandoned/left

समम्together; all at once

मृग-अधिपाःlords of beasts (lions/tigers)

तत्रthere

विद्रुत-यूथानिherds that had fled

हत-यूथ-पतीनिwhose herd-leaders were slain

चand

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

mahāraṇya (great forest)

mṛgādhipa (lions/tigers as chief beasts)

yūtha (animal herds)

yūthapati (herd-leaders)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the suffering and chaos that arise when overwhelming force is unleashed indiscriminately: even those not directly targeted (animals and their social groups) are destabilized. It implicitly cautions that power and warfare-like action should be governed by restraint and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

A great forest is being aggressively searched/harried; as a result, lions and tigers flee, and animal herds scatter in panic—many because their herd-leaders have been killed—creating widespread distress and disorder in the wilderness.