Shloka 55

Devanagari script

न दिष्टमर्थमत्येतुमीशो मर्त्य: कथंचन । महिषैभेंदयामास धनुषाक्षो महीधरान्‌,“मरणधर्मा मनुष्य किसी तरह दैवके विधानका उल्लंघन नहीं कर सकता, तभी तो धनुषाक्षने उस बालककी आयुके निमित्तभूत पर्वतोंका भैंसोंद्वारा भेदन करा दिया”

Transliteration

na diṣṭam artham atyetuṁ īśo martyaḥ kathaṁcana | mahiṣai bhindayāmāsa dhanuṣākṣo mahīdharān |

Translation

Bharadvāja said: “No mortal, however powerful, can in any way overstep what has been ordained by destiny. Therefore Dhanuṣākṣa had mountains—those that served as the very cause determining that boy’s allotted lifespan—pierced through by buffaloes.”

Word by Word

नnot

दिष्टम्what is ordained; destiny

अर्थम्purpose; matter (intended outcome)

अत्येतुम्to overstep; to transgress

ईशःis able; is capable (lit. lord)

मर्त्यःa mortal; man

कथंचनin any way; somehow

महिषैःby buffaloes

भेदयामासcaused to be split/pierced

यामासdid; performed (auxiliary with preceding verb)

धनुषाक्षःthe one with bow-like eyes (name/epithet)

महीधरान्mountains (lit. earth-bearers)

Speaker

भरद्वाज उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bharadvāja

Dhanuṣākṣa

buffaloes (mahiṣa)

mountains (mahīdhara)

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 emphasizes the inviolability of what is divinely ordained (diṣṭa/daiva): even a powerful human cannot override destiny; events unfold through appointed causes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bharadvāja explains that because destiny cannot be crossed, Dhanuṣākṣa arranged for mountains—connected with the determining cause of a boy’s lifespan—to be pierced by buffaloes, illustrating how fate works through concrete instruments.