Shloka 3

अध्याय ७१ — द्रोणव्यूहरक्षा तथा समकालीन द्वन्द्वयुद्धानि

Protection of Droṇa’s formation and parallel duels

Devanagari script

आहोस्विदन्ततो नष्ट श्राद्ध शूद्रीपताविव । स एवमुक्तः प्रत्याह प्राउजलि: सृज्जयस्तदा,“अथवा ऐसा तो नहीं हुआ कि जैसे शूद्रजातिकी स्त्रीसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाले ब्राह्मणको दिया हुआ श्राद्धका दान नष्ट (निष्फल) हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार मेरा यह सारा कहना अन्ततोगत्वा व्यर्थ हो गया हो।” उनके इस प्रकार पूछनेपर उस समय सूंजयने हाथ जोड़कर उत्तर दिया--

Transliteration

āhosvid antato naṣṭaṃ śrāddhaṃ śūdrīpatāv iva | sa evam uktaḥ pratyāha prāñjaliḥ sṛñjayas tadā ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: “Could it be that, in the end, my words have proved fruitless—like a śrāddha offering that becomes ineffective when given by a brāhmaṇa who has entered into a forbidden liaison with a woman of the śūdra class?” When he spoke thus, Sṛñjaya at that time replied with folded hands, indicating reverence and the moral gravity of the question.

Word by Word

आहोor perhaps; is it that

स्वित्indeed? (interrogative particle)

अन्ततःin the end; ultimately

नष्टम्destroyed; lost; rendered futile

श्राद्धम्śrāddha (funeral/ancestral rite offering)

शूद्रीपतौin/with a man having a Śūdra woman (as partner/wife)

इवlike; as if

सःhe

एवम्thus; in this manner

उक्तःhaving been addressed; spoken to

प्रत्याहreplied; answered

प्राञ्जलिःwith joined hands

सृञ्जयःSṛñjaya (proper name)

तदाthen; at that time

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Sṛñjaya

śrāddha

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 highlights the ethical idea that actions and words can lose their intended efficacy when compromised by adharma; it uses the analogy of a ritual (śrāddha) becoming ineffective under a condition of moral/ritual transgression, stressing integrity as a prerequisite for meaningful outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa voices a doubt that his counsel or statement may have become ultimately futile, comparing it to an invalidated śrāddha. In response, Sṛñjaya answers respectfully with folded hands, signaling deference to Vyāsa and the seriousness of the moral concern being raised.