Vana Parva Adhyaya 318 Shloka 20 - Mahabharata | Punjabi | Vedapath

Vyasa

Shloka 20

Devanagari script

विष्णुना वसता चापि गृहे दशरथस्य वै । दशग्रीवो हतश्छन्न॑ संयुगे भीमकर्मणा,“भयंकर पराक्रमी भगवान्‌ विष्णुने भी श्रीरामरूपसे दशरथके घरमें छिपे रहकर युद्धमें दशमुख रावणका वध किया था

Transliteration

viṣṇunā vasatā cāpi gṛhe daśarathasya vai | daśagrīvo hataś channaḥ saṃyuge bhīmakarmaṇā ||

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ— ਭਿਆਨਕ ਕਰਤੱਬ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਵਿਸ਼ਣੂ ਨੇ ਵੀ ਦਸ਼ਰਥ ਦੇ ਘਰ ਵਿੱਚ (ਰਾਮ ਰੂਪ ਧਾਰ ਕੇ) ਗੁਪਤ ਵਾਸ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਯੁੱਧ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਸ਼ਗ੍ਰੀਵ ਦਾ ਵਧ ਕੀਤਾ।

Word by Word

विष्णुनाby Vishnu

वसताwhile dwelling / by (him) dwelling

चand

अपिalso / even

गृहेin the house

दशरथस्यof Dasharatha

वैindeed

दशग्रीवःthe ten-necked one (Ravana)

हतःkilled / slain

छन्नःhidden / concealed

संयुगेin battle

भीमकर्मणाby the one of terrible deeds (i.e., mighty in action)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Viṣṇu

Daśaratha

Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa)

Śrī Rāma (implied by context: Viṣṇu dwelling in Daśaratha’s house)

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?

The verse highlights that the Divine may take on a concealed, human mode (incarnation) to uphold dharma: power is exercised not for display but to remove tyranny and re-establish moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana recalls the Rāmāyaṇa episode: Viṣṇu, residing in Daśaratha’s household as Rāma, fought and killed Daśagrīva (Rāvaṇa) in battle—emphasizing the avatar’s hidden identity and decisive action.