Shloka 36

Devanagari script

वेदिर्यस्य त्वमित्राणां शिरोभ्यश्न प्रकीर्यते

Transliteration

vedir yasya tvamitrāṇāṃ śirobhyaśna prakīryate

Translation

ಅಂಬರೀಷನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ನೀನು ಶತ್ರುಗಳಿಗೆ ಯಜ್ಞವೇದಿಯೇ; ಆ ವೈರಿಗಳ ಶಿರಸ್ಸುಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ನೀನು ಚದುರಿ, ರಾಶಿಯಾಗಿ ಇಡಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿರುವೆ—ಅವರ ಪತನದ ವಿಧಿಯೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವಂತೆ.

Word by Word

वेदीःaltar (as the subject)

यस्यwhose

त्वम्you

मित्राणाम्of friends

शिरोभ्यःfrom (their) heads

अश्नeat / consume

प्रकीर्यतेis scattered / is strewn

Speaker

अम्बरीष उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ambarīṣa

enemies (amitra)

altar (vedi)

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 uses sacrificial imagery to express moral consequence: hostility and wrongdoing culminate in a fitting downfall, as though justice itself performs a grim ‘rite’ upon the aggressor’s head. It frames retribution not as mere violence but as an ordered outcome within a dharmic worldview.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ambarīṣa addresses another party with a sharp metaphor, likening that person to an altar on which enemies are ‘strewn’—suggesting the speaker is describing (or foretelling) the crushing defeat of foes and emphasizing the inevitability of their ruin.