Shloka 48

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

नीयते यमदूतैस्तु यमस्याज्ञाकरैर्बलात्‌

Transliteration

nīyate yamadūtais tu yamasya ājñākarair balāt

Translation

ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಯಮನ ಆಜ್ಞೆಯನ್ನು ನೆರವೇರಿಸುವ ಯಮದೂತರು ಅವನನ್ನು ಬಲವಂತವಾಗಿ ಎಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಾರೆ; ನ್ಯಾಯದ ಕಾಲ ಬಂದಾಗ ಕರ್ಮಫಲಗಳು ತಪ್ಪದೆ ಎದುರಾಗುತ್ತವೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಇದು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

Word by Word

नीयतेis being led/taken

यमदूतैःby Yama's messengers

तुindeed/but

यमस्यof Yama

आज्ञाकरैःby the command-executors (obedient servants)

बलात्by force/forcibly

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yama

Yamadūtas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the inevitability of karmic accountability: when the appointed time comes, the agents of Yama enforce the moral order, and one cannot evade the consequences of one’s actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a person being seized and taken away by Yama’s messengers, who act under Yama’s authority, emphasizing the forceful and unavoidable nature of the transition to judgment after death.