Shloka 45

Drupada’s Alarm and Inquiry Regarding Śikhaṇḍinī (द्रुपदस्य भय-विमर्शः)

Devanagari script

त॑ शशापाथ संक्रुद्धो धनद: कुरुनन्दन । एवमेव भवत्वद्य स्त्रीत्वं पापस्य गुह्ुका:

Transliteration

taṁ śaśāpātha saṁkruddho dhanadaḥ kurunandana | evam eva bhavatv adya strītvaṁ pāpasya guhūkaḥ ||

Translation

ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു— കുരുനന്ദനേ, ക്രുദ്ധനായ ധനദൻ (കുബേരൻ) അവനെ ശപിച്ചു— “അങ്ങനെ തന്നെയാകട്ടെ; ഇന്നുതന്നെ, ഹേ ഗുഹൂക, നിന്റെ പാപഫലമായി നീ സ്ത്രീയാകുക.”

Word by Word

• तं: him
• तं: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शशाप: cursed
• Type: Verb
• Root: शप्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• संक्रुद्धः: enraged
• संक्रुद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संक्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धनदः: Kubera (giver of wealth)
• धनदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरुनन्दन: O delight of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• भवतु: let it be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperative, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अद्य: today/now
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य

• स्त्रीत्वम्: womanhood/femaleness
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्त्रीत्व
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पापस्य: of the sinful one
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• गुहूक: O Guhūka (proper name)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गुहूक
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Dhanada (Kubera)
• Kuru-nandana (addressed Kuru prince)
• Guhūka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights karmic-ethical retribution: wrongdoing (pāpa) invites a proportionate consequence, and even the powerful are subject to moral order (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma narrates that Kubera (Dhanada), angered by an offense, curses the offender named Guhūka, decreeing an immediate transformation into a woman as the result of the misdeed.