Shloka 21

Vyāsa’s Boon-Offer and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse in the Forest Assembly (आश्रमवासिक पर्व, अध्याय ३६)

Devanagari script

समाविद्धे वने तस्मिन्‌ प्राप्ते व्यसन उत्तमे । निराहारतया राजन्‌ मन्दप्राणविचेष्टित:

Transliteration

samāviddhe vane tasmin prāpte vyasane uttame | nirāhāratayā rājan mandaprāṇaviceṣṭitaḥ ||

Translation

ಓ ರಾಜನೇ, ಆ ವನವು ಹೊತ್ತಿ ಉರಿದು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಭಾರೀ ವಿಪತ್ತು ಬಂದಾಗ, ಅವನು—ಆಹಾರವಿಲ್ಲದೆ—ಮಂದವಾದ ಉಸಿರಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕಷ್ಟದಿಂದಲೇ ಚಲಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು.

Word by Word

समाविद्धेin (the forest) that was pierced/struck (by calamity/fire etc.)

वनेin the forest

तस्मिन्in that

प्राप्तेwhen (it) had come/arrived; upon occurrence

व्यसनेin calamity/misfortune

उत्तमेin the extreme/most severe (one)

निराहारतयाby fasting; due to lack of food

राजन्O king

मन्दप्राणविचेष्टितःone whose movements were feeble, with weakened life-breath

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

King (rājan)

forest (vana)

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 underscores the fragility of embodied life and the inevitability of suffering even for the great; it frames calamity as a moment that tests endurance and detachment, highlighting the ethical gravity of accepting hardship with steadiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada narrates a crisis: a forest is burning, a severe disaster has struck, and a principal figure is so weakened by lack of food that he can barely move, his life-breath and efforts reduced to a faint minimum.