Shloka 93

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

ततो मे पृथिवीपाल विस्मय: सुमहानभूत्‌ | कथं त्वयं शिशु: शेते लोके नाशमुपागते,पृथ्वीनाथ! उसे देखकर मुझे बड़ा विस्मय हुआ। मैं सोचने लगा--'सारे संसारके नष्ट हो जानेपर भी यह बालक यहाँ कैसे सो रहा है?”

Transliteration

tato me pṛthivīpāla vismayaḥ sumahān abhūt | kathaṃ tvayaṃ śiśuḥ śete loke nāśam upāgate pṛthvīnātha |

Translation

Then, O king, a very great wonder arose in me. I thought: “How is this child lying here asleep, O lord of the earth, even when the world has come to destruction?”

Word by Word

ततःthen/from that point

मेof me/to me

पृथिवीपालO king (protector of the earth)

विस्मयःastonishment

सुमहान्very great

अभूत्was/arose

कथम्how

त्वयम्you

शिशुःchild/infant

शेतेlies/sleeps

लोकेin the world

नाशम्destruction

उपागतेwhen (it) has come/arrived (i.e., when destruction has come)

पृथ्वीनाथO lord of the earth (king)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

pṛthivīpāla (the king addressed)

pṛthvīnātha (the king addressed)

śiśu (the child)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 human astonishment before events that overturn ordinary expectations—especially the contrast between cosmic ruin and the child’s calm sleep—prompting inquiry into deeper, hidden order beyond surface destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the observer (speaking to a king) is struck with intense wonder on seeing a child lying asleep even though the world is described as having reached destruction, and he voices the question of how this is possible.