Shloka 4

Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)

Devanagari script

यः समुत्पतितं हर्ष दैन्यं वा न नियच्छति । स नश्यति श्रियं प्राप्य पात्रमाममिवाम्भसि

Transliteration

yaḥ samutpatitaṁ harṣaṁ dainyaṁ vā na niyacchati | sa naśyati śriyaṁ prāpya pātram āmam ivāmbhasi ||

Translation

അപ്രതീക്ഷിതമായി ഉയരുന്ന ഹർഷമോ ദൈന്യം (ശോകം)മോ നിയന്ത്രിക്കാത്തവൻ, ഐശ്വര്യം ലഭിച്ചാലും നശിക്കുന്നു—വെള്ളത്തിൽ വെച്ച കച്ച മൺപാത്രം അലിഞ്ഞുപോകുന്നതുപോലെ.

Word by Word

• यः: who (he who)
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समुत्पतितम्: arisen, sprung up
• समुत्पतितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective/Participle
• Root: सम्-उत्-√पत् (to arise/spring up) → समुत्पतित (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• हर्षम्: joy, elation
• हर्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दैन्यम्: dejection, misery
• दैन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• नियच्छति: restrains, controls
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√यम् (to restrain) (वर्त्तमान-लट्)
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नश्यति: perishes, is ruined
• Type: Verb
• Root: √नश् (to perish) (वर्त्तमान-लट्)
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• श्रियम्: fortune, prosperity, royal splendor
• श्रियम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्री (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• Type: Verbal Indeclinable (Gerund)
• Root: प्र-√आप् (to obtain) → प्राप्य (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Gerund (absolutive)

• पात्रम्: vessel, pot
• पात्रम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आमम्: raw, unbaked (earthen)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अम्भसि: in water
• अम्भसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अम्भस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• śrī (prosperity/fortune)
• āmam pātram (unbaked clay vessel)
• ambhas (water)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prosperity is sustained by self-control: one must restrain sudden surges of joy and dejection; otherwise, even gained fortune leads to ruin, like an unbaked clay pot dissolving in water.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana delivers a moral instruction in the form of a vivid simile, warning that uncontrolled emotional reactions can destroy a person’s stability even after they attain success or royal fortune.