Shloka 48

Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154

Devanagari script

अहो पुत्रवियोगेन मृतशून्योपसेवनात्‌ । क्रोशतां सुभृशं दु:खं विवत्सानां गवामिव

Transliteration

aho putraviyogena mṛtaśūnyopasevanāt | krośatāṃ subhṛśaṃ duḥkhaṃ vivatsānāṃ gavām iva ||

Translation

ಜಂಬೂಕನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಅಹೋ! ಪುತ್ರವಿಯೋಗದಿಂದಲೂ, ಮರಣದಿಂದ ಜೀವಶೂನ್ಯವಾದ ಈ ಸ್ಥಳವನ್ನು ಆಶ್ರಯಿಸಿದುದರಿಂದಲೂ, ಇವರ ದುಃಖವು ಅತ್ಯಂತವಾಗಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾಗಿ ಅಳುವ ಆಕ್ರಂದನವಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ—ಕರುಗಳಿಲ್ಲದ ಹಸುಗಳು ಅಳುವಂತೆ.

Word by Word

अहोalas! / oh!

पुत्र-वियोगेनby separation from (one's) son

मृत-शून्य-उपसेवनात्from resorting to a desolate (place) empty like death

क्रोशताम्of those crying/wailing

सुभृशम्exceedingly, very much

दुःखम्sorrow, pain

विवत्सानाम्of those without calves (bereft of calves)

गवाम्of cows

इवlike, as

Speaker

जम्बुक उवाच

Characters & Entities

ज

जम्बुक (Jambuka)

प

पुत्र (son/child)

ग

गवः (cows)

व

वत्स (calf)

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 highlights the natural intensity of grief caused by separation from one’s offspring and the desolation that follows death, inviting compassion and reflection on attachment and the human (and animal) experience of loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Jambuka is describing the sound and force of lamentation arising from bereavement, comparing mourners’ cries to cows wailing when separated from their calves, to convey the depth of sorrow in a vivid, relatable image.