Shloka 44

Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)

Devanagari script

तमाज्ञाय मुनि: क्रोधं नैवास्य स चुकोप ह । स तु क्रोधस्ततो राजन ब्राह्मणीं मूर्तिमास्थित: । जिते तस्मिन्‌ भगुश्रेष्ठम भ्यभाषदमर्षण:,राजन! मुनिने उस क्रोधको पहचान लिया; किंतु उसपर वे कुपित नहीं हुए। तब क्रोधने ब्राह्यणका रूप धारण किया। मुनिके द्वारा पराजित होनेपर उस अमर्षशील क्रोधने उन भुगुश्रेष्ठठे कहा--

Transliteration

tam ājñāya muniḥ krodhaṃ naivāsya sa cukopa ha | sa tu krodhas tato rājan brāhmaṇīṃ mūrtim āsthitaḥ | jite tasmin bhṛguśreṣṭham abhyabhāṣad amārṣaṇaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Recognizing that it was Wrath, the sage did not become angry with it. Then, O king, that Wrath assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa woman. When it had been overcome by the sage, the unforbearing Wrath addressed the foremost of the Bhṛgus.

Word by Word

• {'tam': 'him/that (accusative singular

• here: that Wrath as an entity)', 'ājñāya': 'having recognized, having understood (gerund of √jñā with ā-)', 'muniḥ': 'sage, ascetic', 'krodham': 'wrath, anger (personified here)', 'na eva': 'not at all', 'asya': 'toward him/it

• contextually ‘at it’)', 'cukopa': 'became angry (perfect of √kup)', 'ha': 'indeed, emphatic particle', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'brāhmaṇīm': 'a brāhmaṇa woman (accusative singular feminine)', 'mūrtim': 'form, embodiment', 'āsthitaḥ': 'having assumed, having taken up (past participle of ā-√sthā)', 'jite': 'when (it was) conquered/overcome (locative absolute from √ji)', 'tasmin': 'in that (situation)

• by him/therein (locative singular)', 'bhṛguśreṣṭham': 'the best of the Bhṛgus (Bhṛgu-lineage sage

• accusative singular)', 'abhyabhāṣat': 'addressed, spoke to (aorist of abhi-√bhāṣ)', 'amārṣaṇaḥ': 'unforbearing, intolerant, implacable (epithet of Wrath)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• muni (sage)
• Krodha (Wrath, personified)
• brāhmaṇī (brāhmaṇa woman-form)
• Bhṛguśreṣṭha (foremost of the Bhṛgus)
• rājan (the king, i.e., Janamejaya as listener)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights mastery over anger: the sage recognizes wrath as a force to be understood and subdued rather than mirrored. Ethical strength is shown as non-reactivity—conquering krodha without becoming krodhita.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration to the king, Wrath appears as an entity. The sage identifies it and refuses to be provoked. Wrath then takes the form of a brāhmaṇa woman, but after being overcome, it speaks to the foremost Bhṛgu sage.