Shloka 16

Adhyaya 1 — Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds

Sanskrit

कथञ्च द्रौपदेयास्तेऽकृतदाराः महारथाः ।

पाण्डुनाथा महात्मानो वधमापुरनाथवत् ॥

Transliteration

kathañca draupadeyās te 'kṛtadārā mahārathāḥ /

pāṇḍunāthā mahātmāno vadham āpur anāthavat //

Translation

Dan bagaimana anak-anak Draupadī—para pahlawan kereta perang agung—walaupun belum berkahwin, bersama putera-putera Pāṇḍu yang berhati mulia, menemui maut seolah-olah tanpa pelindung?

Word by Word

• katham: how?
• katham: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: katham (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय)

• ca: and
• ca: Avyaya (अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)

• draupadeyāḥ: the Draupadeyas (Draupadī’s sons)
• draupadeyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: draupadeya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "sons of Draupadī"

• te: those
• te: Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; demonstrative pronoun

• akṛta-dārāḥ: unmarried
• akṛta-dārāḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a- (नञ्) + kṛta (कृदन्त, क्त from √kṛ) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; compound meaning "not having taken wives / unmarried" qualifying draupadeyāḥ

• mahā-rathāḥ: great warriors
• mahā-rathāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; title meaning "great chariot-warriors"

• pāṇḍu-nāthāḥ: Pāṇḍu’s (descendants) / Pāṇḍava-related
• pāṇḍu-nāthāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāṇḍu (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "having Pāṇḍu as lord" i.e., Pāṇḍava lineage; used as epithet

• mahātmānaḥ: great-souled ones
• mahātmānaḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "great-souled" epithet

• vadham: death / slaughter
• vadham: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vadha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• āpuḥ: attained / met with
• āpuḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु); āpuḥ (तिङन्त)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्/liṭ), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; Parasmaipada

• anātha-vat: like the helpless / as if without a protector
• anātha-vat: Avyaya (अव्यय) (manner)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: anātha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
• Form: Comparative adverbial suffix -वत् (vat) forming indeclinable manner expression

Speakers

• Jaimini to Mārkaṇḍeya (questioning within the opening frame)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Itihāsa integration (Mahābhārata)
• Dharma and destiny
• Karmic consequence and vulnerability despite merit
• Frame-narrative inquiry

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse highlights a recurring Purāṇic-Itihāsa concern: worldly excellence (mahāratha status) and even noble birth (pāṇḍunāthāḥ, mahātmānaḥ) do not guarantee protection from calamity. It frames a dharmic question about how apparent merit can still culminate in tragic outcomes—inviting an explanation in terms of fate (daiva), human agency (puruṣakāra), and residual karma.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse functions primarily as a narrative prompt within the Purāṇa’s dialogic frame rather than directly presenting sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita data. Indirectly, it leans toward Vaṃśānucarita/Itihāsa-style recounting (accounts of royal lineages and their deeds), since it concerns the Pāṇḍava line and an event tied to dynastic history.

What is the esoteric significance?

Symbolically, “anāthavat” (as if unprotected) points to the fragility of reliance on external supports—status, lineage, or martial prowess. Esoterically, it gestures toward the Purāṇic view that true “nātha” (protector) is dharma itself (and ultimately the divine order), so when circumstances strip away visible protectors, the text invites inquiry into subtler causality and the hidden workings of time (kāla).