Shloka 25

कुन्तीगर्भगोपनम् तथा मञ्जूषाप्रवाहः

Kuntī’s concealed childbirth and the river-borne casket

Devanagari script

भयात्‌ प्रदुद्रुवु: सर्वे वानरा: सर्वतोदिशम्‌ । राक्षत दशाननकी उस विकराल मायाको देखकर सब वानर भयके मारे चारों दिशाओंमें भाग चले ।। २४ $ ।। ततः सुपत्र॑ सुमुखं हेमपुड्खं शरोत्तमम्‌

Transliteration

bhayāt pradudruvuḥ sarve vānarāḥ sarvato diśam |

Translation

十の頭を持つ羅刹が現した凄惨な幻術を見て、ヴァーナラたちは恐怖に呑まれ、隊列を崩して四方へ逃げ散った。この場面は、恐れと迷妄が共同の決意をいとも容易く砕くこと、そして欺く力の誇示に対しては分別と不動の心が要ることを語っている。

Word by Word

भयात्from fear, out of fear

प्रदुद्रुवुःran away, fled

सर्वेall

वानराःmonkeys, vānaras

सर्वतःon all sides, everywhere

दिशम्direction (as goal)

ततःthen, thereafter

सुपत्रम्having good feathers/wings (well-feathered)

सुमुखम्fair-faced, good-mouthed

हेमपुङ्खम्golden-fletched (having a golden tail/feathering)

शरोत्तमम्the best of arrows, excellent arrow

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

vānarāḥ (the vānaras)

daśānana (the ten-headed rākṣasa, i.e., Rāvaṇa)

māyā (illusion)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fear, especially when triggered by deceptive appearances (māyā), can dissolve unity and judgment; the ethical lesson is to cultivate steadiness and discernment so that one is not driven into rash flight by intimidation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes a moment when the vānaras, terrified by the terrifying illusion displayed by the ten-headed rākṣasa (Daśānana), scatter and run away in all directions.