Shloka 29

आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च

Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha

Devanagari script

अकार्यकरणाच्चापि भृशं मे व्यथितं मन: । तमुग्रतपसं विप्र॑ं निष्टनन्तं महीतले,यह न करनेयोग्य पाप कर डालनेके कारण मेरे मनमें उस समय बड़ी पीड़ा हुई। वे उग्र तपस्वी ब्राह्मण उस समय धरतीपर पड़े-पड़े कराह रहे थे

Transliteration

akāryakaraṇāccāpi bhṛśaṁ me vyathitaṁ manaḥ | tam ugratapasaṁ vipraṁ niṣṭanantaṁ mahītale ||

Translation

“Because I had done what ought not to be done, my mind was deeply pained. I saw that austere brāhmaṇa, fierce in his penance, lying on the ground and groaning— and remorse seized me for the sinful act I had committed.”

Word by Word

अकार्यकरणात्from doing what ought not to be done

चand

अपिalso/even

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

मेof me / my

व्यथितम्pained, distressed

मनःmind

तम्him/that (person)

उग्रतपसम्of fierce austerity

विप्रम्brahmin

निष्टनन्तम्groaning, moaning

महीतलेon the surface of the earth

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

vyādha (the hunter, speaker)

vipra/brāhmaṇa (the ascetic brāhmaṇa)

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 moral accountability: performing an akārya (a forbidden or unethical act) naturally produces inner anguish, and recognition of another’s suffering becomes the trigger for remorse and the search for dharmic correction.

What is happening in the narrative?

The hunter (vyādha) recounts that after committing a wrongful act, he sees an intensely ascetic brāhmaṇa lying on the ground and groaning; this sight intensifies his guilt and mental distress.