Shloka 20

कुम्भकर्णप्रस्थानम् तथा अङ्गदप्रेरणा

Kumbhakarna’s sortie and Angada’s rallying of the Vanaras

Devanagari script

निरायुधानांद्रवतामसङ्गगतिपौरुषाः ।।।।दाराह्युपहसिष्यन्ति स वैघातस्तुजीवताम् ।

Transliteration

nirāyudhānāṃ dravatām asaṅgagatipauruṣāḥ |

dārā hy upahasiṣyanti sa vaighātas tu jīvatām ||

Translation

抗しがたい武勇の戦士たちよ。武器を捨てて逃げれば、己の妻たちにさえ嘲られよう。そのような恥を負って生き長らえる者にとって、その打撃は死よりも重い。

Word by Word

• nirāyudhānām: of the unarmed (ones)
• nirāyudhānām: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: nir-āyudha- (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga / Ṣaṣṭhī / Bahuvacana; tatpuruṣa: nir + āyudha (without weapons)

• dravatām: of those running away
• dravatām: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dru (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्)
• Form: Śatṛ-present active participle used substantively; Puṃliṅga / Ṣaṣṭhī / Bahuvacana

• asaṅgagatipauruṣāḥ: you whose valour/stride is 'unopposed' (unmatched)
• asaṅgagatipauruṣāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) (addressed/ironical epithet)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-saṅga- + gati- + pauruṣa- (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga / Prathamā / Bahuvacana; multi-member tatpuruṣa: asaṅgā gatiḥ yasya/yeṣām, pauruṣāḥ (valorous men)

• dārāḥ: wives
• dārāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) of upahasiṣyanti
• Type: Noun
• Root: dāra- (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga (pluralia tantum) / Prathamā / Bahuvacana

• hi: indeed/for
• hi: Sambandha (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (emphatic/causal particle)

• upahasiṣyanti: will ridicule
• upahasiṣyanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: upa-√has (धातु)
• Form: Luṭ-lakāra (Periphrastic Future) / Prathama-puruṣa / Bahuvacana; Parasmaipada

• saḥ: that
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (copular sense: 'that is')
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad- (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga / Prathamā / Ekavacana

• vaighātaḥ: a great blow/disgrace
• vaighātaḥ: Pradhāna-predication (मुख्यविधेय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vaighāta- (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga / Prathamā / Ekavacana

• tu: indeed/but
• tu: Sambandha
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Nipāta (contrast/emphasis)

• jīvatām: of the living (men)
• jīvatām: Sambandha (genitive)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √jīv (धातु) + śatṛ (कृत्)
• Form: Śatṛ-present active participle used substantively; Puṃliṅga / Ṣaṣṭhī / Bahuvacana

Context

"Monkeys! Your valour can't be challenged. If you run away for life abandoning weapons even your wives will ridicule you. That is more than death."

Characters & Entities

• Aṅgada
• Vānara (monkeys)
• Wives (dārāḥ)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Dharma is tied to honour and responsibility: living after abandoning duty brings social and inner dishonour that is portrayed as worse than death.

What is the narrative situation?

Aṅgada uses moral pressure and the prospect of ridicule to stop the troops from fleeing the battlefield.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Sense of honour (māna) aligned with duty—courage is sustained by accountability to one’s community.