Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 20
Devanagari script
अभ्यद्रवन्त देवांस्ते सहस्नाणि दशैव हि । ततस्तैरदिता देवा: शरणं वासवं ययु:
Transliteration
abhyadravant devāṁs te sahasrāṇi daśaiva hi | tatas tair aditā devāḥ śaraṇaṁ vāsavaṁ yayuḥ ||
Translation
ಅವರು—ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ—ದೇವತೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಧಾವಿಸಿದರು; ಅವರಿಂದ ಪೀಡಿತರಾದ ದೇವತೆಗಳು ಓಡಿ ವಾಸವ (ಇಂದ್ರ)ನ ಶರಣು ಹೋದರು.
Word by Word
{'abhyadravant''they rushed upon, charged at (violent advance)', 'devān': 'the gods, devas (celestial beings)', 'te': 'they, those (referring to the attackers)', 'sahasrāṇi': 'thousands', 'daśa': 'ten', 'eva': 'indeed, precisely', 'hi': 'for, indeed (emphatic particle)', 'tatas': 'then, thereafter', 'taiḥ': 'by them (instrumental plural)', 'aditāḥ': 'afflicted, tormented, distressed', 'devāḥ': 'the gods (subject)', 'śaraṇam': 'refuge, protection, shelter', 'vāsavam': 'Vāsava, Indra (lord of the Vasus
{'abhyadravant':
epithet of Indra)', 'yayuḥ''they went, they resorted to (perfect/preterite plural)'}
epithet of Indra)', 'yayuḥ':
Speaker
भीष्म उवाच
Characters & Entities
B
BhīṣmaD
Devas (gods)V
Vāsava (Indra)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Educational Q&A
When the righteous are oppressed, seeking śaraṇa (refuge) with a rightful protector is appropriate; the protector’s dharma is to provide shelter and re-establish order against unjust aggression.
A host numbering ten thousand attacks the devas; the devas are badly afflicted and, unable to withstand the assault, flee to Vāsava (Indra) for protection.