Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 23

Kṛṣṇasya Dvārakā-praveśaḥ — Krishna’s Return to Dvārakā and the Raivataka Festival

Devanagari script

बिल्वप्रहारैस्तस्याथ व्यशीर्यद्‌ बन्धनं ततः

Transliteration

bilvaprahāraistasyātha vyaśīryad bandhanaṃ tataḥ

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਤਦ ਬਿਲਵ ਦੇ ਫਲਾਂ ਦੇ ਵਾਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਬੰਧਨ ਚੀਰ ਕੇ ਟੁੱਟ ਗਿਆ।

Word by Word

• बिल्वप्रहारैः: with blows of bilva-wood (bilva strikes)
• बिल्वप्रहारैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बिल्व-प्रहार
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तस्य: of him / his
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• व्यशीर्यत्: was torn apart / broke apart
• Type: Verb
• Root: शीॄ (शीर्ण/शीर्यते)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada, Atmanepada

• बन्धनम्: the binding / bond / fastening
• बन्धनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्धन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: thereupon / from that (time/place)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• bilva (object/tree)
• bandhana (bondage/fetter)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how a binding constraint (bandhana) can be destroyed through decisive action; ethically, it points to the narrative idea that restraints—whether physical or situational—are contingent and can be undone by forceful intervention, for good or ill depending on context.

What is happening in the narrative?

A person’s bond or fetter is being broken: after being struck with bilva blows, the binding that held him tears apart, indicating a release from restraint at that moment in the story.