Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

मृगयूथान्यथौत्सुक्याच्छब्दं चक्रुस्ततस्तत: । शुष्काश्चापि नदीर्गत्वा जलनैराश्यकर्शिता:,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

mṛgayūthāny athautsukyāc chabdaṃ cakrus tatas tataḥ | śuṣkāś cāpi nadīr gatvā jalanairāśyakārśitāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then the herds of deer, thrown into agitation, raised cries again and again in different places. And some, tormented by despair for water, went even to dried-up riverbeds; finding no water there, they were worn down by hopelessness and exhaustion.

Word by Word

मृगयूथानिherds of deer/animals

यथाas/just as

औत्सुक्यात्from eagerness; out of agitation

शब्दम्a sound/cry

चक्रुःthey made/uttered

ततःthen; thereafter

ततःagain and again; here and there

शुष्काःdry

चand

अपिalso/even

नदीःrivers

गत्वाhaving gone

जलनैराश्यकर्शिताःworn down by despair of (finding) water

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

mṛga-yūtha (herds of deer/wild animals)

nadī (rivers/riverbeds)

jala (water)

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 cascading harm that follows unchecked violence in the natural world: fear, displacement, and the suffering of living beings. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical atmosphere, such scenes often function as a reminder that royal power and martial prowess, when expressed as indiscriminate destruction, generate widespread duḥkha and invite moral scrutiny.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the forest is being violently disturbed (contextually by a powerful king and his forces), herds of deer and other animals panic and cry out in many directions. Some run to riverbeds only to find them dry; despairing for water, they become weakened and exhausted.