Shloka 433

अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः

Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve

Devanagari script

प्रतिकृत्य यथाकामं शत्रूणां शत्रुसूदन: । वह शत्रुओंका संहार करनेवाला उलूक उन कौओंका वध करके अपने शत्रुओंसे इच्छानुसार भरपूर बदला लेकर बहुत प्रसन्न हुआ

Transliteration

pratikṛtya yathākāmaṁ śatrūṇāṁ śatrusūdanaḥ | ulūkaḥ kākanāṁ vadhaṁ kṛtvā śatrubhyo yathā-iccham atṛpyat prahṛṣṭaḥ ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「敵に対し心ゆくまで報復を遂げたのち、敵を屠るウルーカはその烏どもを殺し、望むままに復讐を満たして大いに満悦した。」

Word by Word

• प्रतिकृत्य: having retaliated / having repaid
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रति-√कृ
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• यथाकामम्: as desired; at will
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा + काम
• Form: true

• शत्रूणाम्: of enemies
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शत्रुसूदनः: enemy-slayer (one who destroys enemies)
• शत्रुसूदनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु-सूदन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• उलूक (Ulūka)
• काक (crows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the psychology and moral tension of retaliation: in the atmosphere of war, ‘justice’ is often pursued as revenge, and the agent of violence feels satisfaction after inflicting counter-harm—an implicit warning about how conflict normalizes cruelty and pleasure in retribution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Ulūka, after killing the crows, feels he has repaid his enemies to his satisfaction and becomes pleased—presenting a brief snapshot of vengeance fulfilled within the broader night-raid context of the Sauptika Parva.