Shloka 53

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

जरापरिगतो वृद्ध: क्षुधार्तो दुर्बलो भूशम्‌

Transliteration

jarāparigato vṛddhaḥ kṣudhārto durbalo bhūśam

Translation

ਨਕੁਲ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—“ਬੁਢਾਪੇ ਨਾਲ ਘਿਰਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਇਕ ਬੁੱਢਾ ਮਨੁੱਖ, ਭੁੱਖ ਨਾਲ ਪੀੜਤ ਤੇ ਕਮਜ਼ੋਰ—ਧਰਤੀ ਉੱਤੇ ਪਿਆ ਰਹਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ।”

Word by Word

• जरापरिगतः: overtaken by old age
• जरापरिगतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जरापरिगत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृद्धः: aged, old
• वृद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• क्षुधार्तः: afflicted by hunger
• क्षुधार्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुधार्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दुर्बलः: weak
• दुर्बलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुर्बल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भूशम्: greatly, exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूशम्

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nakula
• an aged man (vṛddha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds vulnerability—old age, hunger, and weakness—inviting a dharmic response of compassion and responsible care for those who are helpless.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nakula describes the pitiable condition of an elderly person: overcome by age, starving, and too weak to stand, he is lying on the ground—setting up a moral or practical response in the surrounding episode.