Shloka 3

Kṛṣṇasya asāṃnidhya-kāraṇaṃ — Śālva–Soubha-vṛttāntaḥ

Why Kṛṣṇa was absent; the Śālva and Saubha account

Devanagari script

अरुन्धत्तां सुदुष्टात्मा सर्वतः पाण्डुनन्दन । शाल्वो वैहायसं चापि तत्‌ पुरं व्यूह्ा विछ्ठित:,पाण्डुनन्दन! उस दुष्टात्मा शाल्वने सेनाद्वारा द्वारकापुरीको सब ओरसे घेर लिया था। वह स्वयं आकाशचारी विमान सौभपर व्यूहरचनापूर्वक विराजमान हो रहा था

Transliteration

arundhattāṁ suduṣṭātmā sarvataḥ pāṇḍunandana | śālvo vaihāyasaṁ cāpi tat puraṁ vyūha-vicchitaḥ ||

Translation

ヴァーユは言った。「パーンドゥの子よ、邪悪な心のシャールヴァは軍勢をもってアルンダティーの都を四方から包囲した。彼自身は天空を行くサウバ・ヴィマーナに陣取り、戦陣を整えて、その都への攻撃を押し進めた。」

Word by Word

अरुन्धत्ताम्besieged, blocked, hemmed in

सुदुष्टात्माone of very wicked nature

सर्वतःon all sides, from every direction

पाण्डुनन्दनO son of Pāṇḍu

शाल्वःŚālva

वैहायसम्aerial, moving in the sky

चand

अपिalso, even

तत्that

पुरम्city (Dvārikā)

व्यूह्यhaving arrayed (the troops), having formed a battle-array

विच्छित्तःstationed/placed (in formation); arranged

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva

Pāṇḍunandana (a Pāṇḍava, addressed)

Śālva

Arundhatī

Saubha-vimāna

pura (city; contextually associated with Dvārakā in the narrative tradition)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames aggressive, deceitful warfare as a mark of a corrupted inner nature (suduṣṭātmā). It implicitly contrasts righteous conduct with adharma expressed through intimidation, encirclement, and aerial advantage used for oppression.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu narrates that King Śālva has surrounded the target (named Arundhatī here) from all sides and is conducting the attack while positioned in the sky-borne Saubha-vimāna, deployed with a deliberate battle-array against the city.