Shanti Parva Adhyaya 38 Shloka 36 - Mahabharata | Punjabi | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 36

शान्ति पर्व (अध्याय 38): युधिष्ठिरस्य राजधर्म-जिज्ञासा तथा भीष्मोपसर्पण-प्रस्तावना | Shanti Parva Chapter 38: Yudhishthira’s Inquiry into Rajadharma and the Prelude to Approaching Bhishma

Devanagari script

स पपात विनिर्दग्धस्तेजसा ब्रह्म॒वादिनाम्‌ महेन्द्राशनिनिर्दग्ध: पादपो5ड्कुरवानिव

Transliteration

sa papāta vinirdagdhas tejasā brahmavādinām | mahendrāśaninirdagdhaḥ pādapo 'ṅkuravān iva ||

Translation

ਬ੍ਰਹਮਵਾਦੀ ਮਹਾਤਮਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਤੇਜ ਨਾਲ ਸੜ ਕੇ ਉਹ ਰਾਖਸ਼ਸ ਡਿੱਗ ਪਿਆ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਮਹੇਂਦਰ ਦੇ ਵਜ੍ਰ ਨਾਲ ਸੜ ਕੇ ਅੰਕੁਰਾਂ ਵਾਲਾ ਕੋਈ ਦਰੱਖ਼ਤ ਢਹਿ ਪਵੇ।

Word by Word

सःhe

पपातfell

विनिर्दग्धःburnt up, scorched

तेजसाby the radiance/power

ब्रह्मवादिनाम्of the Brahman-speakers (brahmins/ascetics)

महेन्द्राशनिनिर्दग्धःburnt by Mahendra's thunderbolt

पादपःa tree

अङ्कुरवान्having sprouts

इवas if, like

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

brahmavādins (Brahman-sages)

rākṣasa

Mahendra (Indra)

aśani (thunderbolt)

pādapa (tree with sprouts)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that the moral-spiritual force (tejas) of dharmic sages can overpower destructive aggression; ethical discipline and truth-bearing authority are portrayed as a higher power than mere physical might.

What is happening in the narrative?

A rākṣasa, unable to withstand the burning radiance of the brahmavādins, collapses—compared to a sprouting tree felled after being scorched by Indra’s thunderbolt.