Shloka 10

Adhyāya 108: Paścima-dik—Varuṇa’s Realm, Sunset Cosmology, and Sacred-Geographic Markers

Suparṇa–Gālava संवाद

Devanagari script

अत्र सामानि गाथाभि: श्र॒ुत्वा गीतानि रैवत: । गतदारो गतामात्यो गतराज्यो वनं गत:,पूर्वकालमें यहीं राजा रैवत गाथाओंके रूपमें सामगान सुनते-सुनते अपनी स्त्री, मन्त्री तथा राज्यसे भी वियुक्त हो वनमें चले गये थे”

Transliteration

atra sāmāni gāthābhiḥ śrutvā gītāni raivataḥ | gatadāro gatāmātyo gatarājyo vanaṃ gataḥ ||

Translation

പൂർവകാലത്ത് ഇവിടെ തന്നെയായിരുന്നു രാജാവ് റൈവതൻ ഗാഥാരൂപത്തിൽ പാടപ്പെട്ട സാമഗാനം കേട്ടുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കെ വൈരാഗ്യം പ്രാപിച്ചത്; ഭാര്യയെയും മന്ത്രിമാരെയും രാജ്യത്തെയും ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് അദ്ദേഹം വനത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി।

Word by Word

अत्रhere

सामानिSāman-chants

गाथाभिःby/through gāthās (songs/verses)

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

गीतानिsongs (things sung)

रैवतःRaivata (the king)

गतदारःone whose wife is gone (bereft of wife)

गतामात्यःone whose ministers are gone (bereft of ministers)

गतराज्यःone whose kingdom is gone (deprived of kingdom)

वनम्to the forest

गतःgone

Speaker

युपर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Raivata (king)

Sāman (Sāmaveda chants)

Forest (vana)

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 presents renunciation born of deep listening and contemplation: sacred song (Sāman) can awaken dispassion, leading one to value inner freedom over attachments to spouse, political counsel, and royal power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yuparṇa cites an earlier example: King Raivata, after hearing Sāman-hymns rendered as gāthās, relinquishes his household and political establishment and goes to the forest, illustrating a precedent of withdrawal from worldly rule.