Shloka 59

Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

एवं ब्रुवन्नेव स यातुधानै- हतो जगामाशु महीं क्षितीश: । ततो विदित्वा नृपतिं निपातित- मिक्ष्वाकवो वै दलमभ्यषिज्चन्‌,ऐसा कहते ही राजा शल उन राक्षसोंसे मारे जाकर तुरंत धराशायी हो गये। इक्ष्वाकुवंशी क्षत्रियोंकोी जब यह मालूम हुआ कि राजा मार गिराये गये, तब उन्होंने उनके छोटे भाई दलका राज्याभिषेक कर दिया

Transliteration

evaṁ bruvann eva sa yātudhānaiḥ hato jagāmāśu mahīṁ kṣitīśaḥ | tato viditvā nṛpatiṁ nipātitam ikṣvākavo vai dalam abhyasiñcan |

Translation

As he was still speaking thus, the king—lord of the earth—was swiftly struck down by the rākṣasas and fell to the ground. Then, when the Ikṣvāku-descended kṣatriyas learned that their ruler had been slain, they performed the royal consecration and installed his younger brother, Dala, upon the throne. The episode underscores the fragility of worldly power and the duty of a polity to restore order through legitimate succession even amid calamity.

Word by Word

• {'evaṁ': 'thus, in this manner', 'bruvan': 'speaking, saying', 'eva': 'indeed, just, even', 'yātudhānaiḥ': 'by yātudhānas (a class of rākṣasas/demonic beings)', 'hataḥ': 'slain, killed', 'jagāma': 'went, came to (here: came to the ground/fell)', 'āśu': 'quickly, swiftly', 'mahīm': 'the earth, ground', 'kṣitīśaḥ': 'king

• lord of the earth', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'viditvā': 'having known, upon learning', 'nṛpatim': 'the king', 'nipātitam': 'felled, struck down, brought low', 'ikṣvākavaḥ': 'the Ikṣvāku lineage/descendants', 'vai': 'indeed, surely (emphatic particle)', 'dalam': "Dala (proper name)

• also 'troop/part' in other contexts", 'abhyasiñcan': 'they anointed, consecrated (performed abhiṣeka)'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Markandeya
• kṣitīśa (the king)
• yātudhānas (rākṣasas)
• Ikṣvāku lineage (Ikṣvākavaḥ)
• Dala
• mahī (earth/ground)