Shloka 11

Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context

Devanagari script

ततस्तदा कुरुश्रेष्ठ वनस्थे त्वयि भारत । अवसद्‌ द्वारकामेत्य वृष्णिश्रि: परमार्चित:

Transliteration

tatastadā kuruśreṣṭha vanasthe tvayi bhārata | avasad dvārakām etya vṛṣṇiśrīḥ paramārcitaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Then, O best of the Kurus, while you, O Bhārata, were dwelling in the forest, the glory of the Vṛṣṇis—highly honored—came to Dvārakā and fell into decline.”

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

तदाat that time

कुरुश्रेष्ठO best of the Kurus

वनस्थेwhen (you were) dwelling in the forest

त्वयिin/with regard to you

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

अवसत्sat down; stayed; took up residence

द्वारकाम्to/at Dvārakā (as the goal reached)

एत्यhaving gone/come (there)

वृष्णिश्रीःthe glory/splendour of the Vṛṣṇis

परमार्चितःhighly honoured; supremely worshipped

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (addressee, traditionally Janamejaya)

Kuru (lineage)

Dvārakā

Vṛṣṇis

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?

Even the most celebrated and honored prosperity of a powerful clan is not permanent; when conditions shift—often under the pressure of time and consequences—glory can quickly turn into decline, urging humility and vigilance in dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator marks a transition: while the addressed Bhārata figure is living in the forest, the narrative reports that the Vṛṣṇis’ famed prosperity, centered in Dvārakā, reaches a turning point and begins to collapse—foreshadowing the later destruction of the Yādava/Vṛṣṇi community.