Shloka 21

Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context

Devanagari script

“मैंने भी कह दिया--'ले लो चक्र," मेरे इतना कहते ही उसने सहसा उछलकर बायें हाथसे चक्रको पकड़ लिया

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca— mayāpi uktam— “gṛhāṇa cakram” iti; mama etāvat uktamātre sa sahasā utplutya vāma-hastena cakraṃ jagrāha.

Translation

ໄວສັມປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ຂ້ອຍກໍໄດ້ເວົ້າວ່າ ‘ເອົາຈັກຣາໄປ’». ພໍຂ້ອຍເວົ້າຈົບ ລາວກໍກະໂດດຂຶ້ນທັນທີ ແລະຈັບຈັກຣາດ້ວຍມືຊ້າຍ.

Word by Word

• मया: by me / I (instrumental)
• मया: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Tritiya, Ekavacana

• अपि: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• कथितम्: said / spoken
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ्
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathama, Ekavacana, क्त (past passive participle)

• ले: take!
• Type: Verb
• Root: लॄ (लृ)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), Madhyama, Ekavacana

• लो: take! (emphatic/colloquial doubling)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लॄ (लृ)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), Madhyama, Ekavacana

• चक्रम्: the discus
• चक्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitiya, Ekavacana

• मम: my
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Shashthi, Ekavacana

• एतत्: this (thing/statement)
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitiya, Ekavacana

• कथिते: when (this) was said / upon my saying this
• कथिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथ्
• Form: Napumsaka, Saptami, Ekavacana, क्त (PPP), locative absolute

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Pum, Prathama, Ekavacana

• सहसा: suddenly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा

• उत्प्लुत्य: having leapt up
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्लु
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), उत्

• वामेन: with the left
• वामेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाम
• Form: Pum, Tritiya, Ekavacana

• हस्तेन: with (his) hand
• हस्तेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्त
• Form: Pum, Tritiya, Ekavacana

• चक्रम्: the discus
• चक्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्र
• Form: Napumsaka, Dvitiya, Ekavacana

• जग्राह: seized / took hold
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: लिट् (perfect), Prathama, Ekavacana

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• cakra (discus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the ethical weight of authorization and speech: a brief command can unleash immediate action, so one must consider intention, restraint, and accountability for outcomes set in motion by one’s words.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports that he instructed someone to take the discus; instantly, that person leapt up and grabbed the cakra with the left hand, indicating urgency and readiness to act in the tense wartime context.