Shloka 31

Devanagari script

अस्ति:ः प्राप्तिश्न नाम्ना ते सहदेवानुजेडबले । बलेन तेन स्वज्ञातीनभिभूय वृथामति:

Transliteration

astiḥ prāptiś ca nāmnā te sahadevānuje bale | balena tena svajñātīn abhibhūya vṛthāmatiḥ ||

Translation

Śrī Kṛṣṇa bersabda: “Kamu mempunyai seorang bernama Asti dan seorang lagi bernama Prāpti—kedua-duanya adik kepada Sahadeva—yang gagah perkasa. Namun, dengan bersandar pada kekuatan itu, dia menindas kaum kerabatnya sendiri lalu menjadi sesat, pertimbangannya pun menjadi sia-sia.”

Word by Word

अस्तिthere is / exists

प्राप्तिश्नःPrāptiśna (a person’s name)

नाम्नाby name

तेto you

सहदेवof Sahadeva

अनुजःyounger brother

अबलःweak / powerless

बलेनby strength

तेनby that

स्वone’s own

ज्ञातीन्kinsmen / relatives

अभिभूयhaving overpowered

वृथाin vain / uselessly

अमतिःfolly / bad understanding

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Asti

Prāpti

Sahadeva

svajñāti (kinsmen/relatives)

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?

Strength (bala) is not a license to oppress one’s own people; when power is used to subdue kinsmen, it leads to vṛthā-mati—vain, misguided judgment—contrary to dharma and responsible conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Kṛṣṇa identifies individuals by name (Asti and Prāpti), describing them as strong and connected to Sahadeva, and then critiques the ethical failure that arises when such strength is turned against one’s own relatives.