Shloka 24

Devanagari script

विसर्जयित्वा मज्जूषां सम्बोधनभयात्‌ पितु: । विवेश राजभवन पुन: शोकातुरा तत:,पेटीको पानीमें बहाकर, कहीं पिताजी जग न जायूँ, इस भयसे वह शोकसे आतुर हो पुन: राजभवनमें चली गयी

Transliteration

visarjayitvā majjūṣāṃ sambodhana-bhayāt pituḥ | viveśa rāja-bhavanaṃ punaḥ śokāturā tataḥ ||

Translation

Having cast the casket away into the water, fearing that her father might recognize her, she—overwhelmed by grief—returned once more to the royal palace. The act reflects a painful ethical tension: self-preservation and secrecy chosen under fear, even as sorrow continues to weigh upon her.

Word by Word

विसर्जयित्वाhaving cast away/let go

मज्जूषाम्the casket/box

सम्बोधनof being recognized/addressed

भयात्from fear

पितुःof (her) father

विवेशentered

राजभवनम्the royal palace

पुनःagain

शोकातुराdistressed with grief

ततःthen/thereupon

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

father (pituḥ)

majjūṣā (casket/box)

rāja-bhavana (royal palace)

water (implied by context of floating away)

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 how fear and social consequences can drive a person to conceal truth, even when the heart is burdened by grief—showing the moral cost of secrecy and the inner suffering that follows such choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

A woman discards a casket by letting it be carried away in water, worried her father might recognize or identify her; afterward, still grief-stricken, she re-enters the royal palace.