Shloka 18

Nahūṣa as Ajagara: Virtue Hierarchy, Karmic Gati, and the Psychology of Mind–Intellect

Devanagari script

तत्राससादातिबलं भुजड़ं क्षुधार्दितं मृत्युमिवोग्ररूपम्‌ वृकोदर: पर्वतकन्दरायां विषादमोहव्यथितान्तरात्मा,उसी यात्रामें भीमसेन एक दिन पर्वतकी कन्दरामें भूखसे पीड़ित एक अजगरके पास जा पहुँचे, जो अत्यन्त बलवान होनेके साथ ही मृत्युके समान भयानक था। उस समय उनकी अनन्‍्तरात्मा विषाद एवं मोहसे व्यथित हो उठी

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tatrāsasādātibalaṃ bhujaṅgaṃ kṣudhārditaṃ mṛtyum ivograrūpam | vṛkodaraḥ parvatakandarāyāṃ viṣādamohavyathitāntarātmā ||

Translation

ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಪರ್ವತದ ಕಂದರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವೃಕೋದರ (ಭೀಮ)ನು ಹಸಿವಿನಿಂದ ಪೀಡಿತನಾದ, ಅತಿಬಲಶಾಲಿಯಾದ, ಮರಣದಂತೆ ಭಯಂಕರ ರೂಪದ ಮಹಾಸರ್ಪವನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸಿದನು. ಆ ಕ್ಷಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವನ ಅಂತರಾತ್ಮ ವಿಷಾದ ಮತ್ತು ಮೋಹದಿಂದ ವ್ಯಥಿತವಾಯಿತು.

Word by Word

• {'tatra': 'there

• in that place', 'āsasāda': 'came upon

• encountered', 'atibalam': 'exceedingly strong

• very powerful', 'bhujaṅgam': 'serpent

• snake (also: one who moves by bending)', 'kṣudhārditam': 'afflicted/tormented by hunger', 'mṛtyum iva': 'like Death

• as if Death', 'ugrarūpam': 'terrible in appearance

• fearsome-formed', 'vṛkodaraḥ': "Vṛkodara, an epithet of Bhīma (lit. 'wolf-bellied')", 'parvata-kandarāyām': 'in a mountain cave/cleft', 'viṣāda': 'dejection

• despair', 'moha': 'delusion

• loss of discernment', 'vyathita': 'distressed

• pained', 'antarātmā': 'inner self

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vṛkodara (Bhīma)
• bhujaṅga (serpent/ajagara)
• parvata-kandarā (mountain cave)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical and psychological test: even a hero famed for strength can be shaken by viṣāda (dejection) and moha (delusion). It hints that dharma requires inner steadiness and discernment, not merely physical power, especially when confronted with fearsome, death-like situations.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma (Vṛkodara) reaches a mountain cave and encounters a terrifying, extremely powerful serpent, driven by hunger and described as resembling Death. Bhīma’s inner mind becomes troubled by dejection and confusion, foreshadowing a challenging encounter and its moral implications.