Shloka 4

Devanagari script

त॑ वपाधूमगन्ध॑ तु धर्मराज: सहानुजै:

Transliteration

taṁ vapādhūmagandhaṁ tu dharmarājaḥ sahānujaiḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira), together with his younger brothers, perceived that smell of the smoke arising from the sacrificial fat—an omen that the rite was proceeding according to rule and a reminder that royal power must be exercised under the discipline of dharma.

Word by Word

• तं: him/that (person)
• तं: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वपाधूमगन्धं: the smell of fat-smoke
• वपाधूमगन्धं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वपा-धूम-गन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• धर्मराजः: Dharmaraja (Yudhishthira)
• धर्मराजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मराज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सहानुजैः: together with (his) younger brothers
• सहानुजैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सह-अनुज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Younger brothers of Yudhiṣṭhira (the Pāṇḍavas)
• vapā (sacrificial fat)
• dhūma (smoke)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a victorious king must remain bound to dharma: the sacrificial setting symbolizes that political authority is legitimate only when disciplined by righteous ritual order and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Yudhiṣṭhira, accompanied by his younger brothers, noticing the odor of smoke from the sacrificial fat—an atmospheric detail indicating the ongoing Aśvamedha rite and the Pāṇḍavas’ participation in it.