Shloka 39

Devanagari script

श्वपाकवन्म्लेच्छगणान्‌ हत्वा चान्यान्‌ पृथग्विधान्‌ । अज्ञानान्मूढवद्‌ ब्रह्मन्‌ पुत्रदारधनेप्सया,“ब्रह्मन! ब्रह्मवेत्ता होकर भी आपने स्त्री, धन और पुत्रकी लिप्सासे मूर्ख चाण्डालोंके समान कितने ही म्लेच्छों तथा अन्य नाना प्रकारके क्षत्रियसमूहोंका संहार कर डाला है

Transliteration

śvapākavan mlecchagaṇān hatvā cānyān pṛthagvidhān | ajñānān mūḍhavad brahman putradāradhanepsayā ||

Translation

ಓ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮನ್! ಬ್ರಹ್ಮವೇತ್ತನಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಪುತ್ರ, ಪತ್ನಿ, ಧನಗಳ ಲಾಲಸೆಯಿಂದ ಅಜ್ಞಾನವಶವಾಗಿ ಮೂಢ ಚಾಂಡಾಲನಂತೆ ನೀನು ಅನೇಕ ಮ್ಲೇಚ್ಛಗಣಗಳನ್ನೂ ಇನ್ನಿತರ ನಾನಾವಿಧ ಗುಂಪುಗಳನ್ನೂ ಸಂಹರಿಸಿದ್ದೀಯೆ.

Word by Word

श्वपाकवत्like a caṇḍāla (dog-cooker)

म्लेच्छगणान्groups of mlecchas

हत्वाhaving slain

चand

अन्यान्others

पृथग्विधान्of various distinct kinds

अज्ञानात्from ignorance / due to ignorance

मूढवत्like a fool

ब्रह्मन्O brahmin / O Brahman-knower (address)

पुत्रदारधनेप्सयाby/with the desire for son, wife, and wealth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Brahman (addressed person, unspecified in this verse)

mleccha-gaṇas (mleccha groups)

śvapāka (as a comparison)

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?

The verse criticizes the contradiction between spiritual knowledge (being a brahmavit) and conduct driven by craving for worldly attachments—son, spouse, and wealth—leading to unethical violence. It frames such killing as arising from ignorance and delusion, not from true wisdom.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a rebuke directed at a learned ‘Brahman’: despite claiming higher knowledge, he is accused of slaughtering many groups (mlecchas and others) out of worldly desire, likened rhetorically to the behavior of an ignorant outcaste.