Shloka 48

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

नीयते यमदूतैस्तु यमस्याज्ञाकरैर्बलात्‌

Transliteration

nīyate yamadūtais tu yamasya ājñākarair balāt

Translation

वैशंपायन म्हणाला—यमाच्या आज्ञा पाळणारे यमदूत त्याला बलपूर्वक घेऊन जातात; न्यायाची वेळ आली की कर्मांचे परिणाम अटळपणे समोर येतात, हेच यात दिसते.

Word by Word

• नीयते: is being led/taken
• नीयते: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (नयति)
• Form: Present (Lat), Passive (Karmani), 3rd, Singular

• यमदूतैः: by Yama's messengers
• यमदूतैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमदूत
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तु: indeed/but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• यमस्य: of Yama
• यमस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• आज्ञाकरैः: by the command-executors (obedient servants)
• आज्ञाकरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आज्ञाकर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• बलात्: by force/forcibly
• बलात्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yama
• Yamadūtas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the inevitability of karmic accountability: when the appointed time comes, the agents of Yama enforce the moral order, and one cannot evade the consequences of one’s actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a person being seized and taken away by Yama’s messengers, who act under Yama’s authority, emphasizing the forceful and unavoidable nature of the transition to judgment after death.