Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तथा च गतिमन्तस्ते वासुदेवस्य वाजिन: । प्रणष्टगतयो 5भूवन्‌ राजमार्ग नरैर्वृते,वहाँकी प्रधान सड़क लोगोंसे ऐसी खचाखच भर गयी थी कि श्रीकृष्णके वेगपूर्वक चलनेवाले घोड़ोंकी गति भी अवरुद्ध हो गयी

Transliteration

tathā ca gatimantas te vāsudevasya vājinaḥ | praṇaṣṭagatayo 'bhūvan rājamārge narair vṛte ||

Translation

അങ്ങനെ വാസുദേവന്റെ അതിവേഗ അശ്വങ്ങളും തങ്ങളുടെ ഗതി നഷ്ടപ്പെടുത്തി; രാജമാർഗം ജനങ്ങളാൽ അത്യന്തം നിറഞ്ഞതിനാൽ അവരുടെ മുന്നേറ്റം തടയപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

चand

गतिमन्तःswift, possessing speed

तेthose (they)

वासुदेवस्यof Vāsudeva (Krishna)

वाजिनःhorses

प्रणष्टगतयःwhose movement was lost/checked

अभूवन्became, were

राजमार्गेon the king's road, on the main road

नरैःby men, with people

वृतेcrowded, filled, surrounded

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

horses (vājinaḥ)

royal highway (rājamārga)

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?

Even exceptional power and speed are constrained by context—here, the collective presence of people. The verse subtly highlights humility before circumstance and the social reality that public forces can redirect individual intent.

What is happening in the narrative?

As Vāsudeva proceeds along the main road, the crowd becomes so dense that his normally swift horses cannot maintain their pace; their movement is effectively obstructed by the throng.