Shloka 18

Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)

Devanagari script

ततः शक्र: स्पृष्टमात्रस्तया तु स्रस्तैरड्रे: पतितो5भूद्‌ धरण्याम्‌ । तमब्रवीद्‌ भगवानुग्रतेजा मैवं पुन: शक्र कृथा: कथंचित्‌,तदनन्तर उस स्त्रीने ज्यों ही इन्द्रका स्पर्श किया, उनके सारे अंग शिथिल हो गये और वे धरतीपर गिर पड़े। तब उग्र तेजस्वी भगवान्‌ रुद्रने उनसे कहा--'इन्द्र! फिर किसी प्रकार भी ऐसा घमंड न करना

Transliteration

tataḥ śakraḥ spṛṣṭamātrā tayā tu srastair aṅgaiḥ patito 'bhūd dharaṇyām | tam abravīd bhagavān ugratejā māivaṃ punaḥ śakra kṛthāḥ kathaṃcit ||

Translation

Então Śakra (Indra), no instante em que foi tocado por aquela mulher, teve todos os membros afrouxados e caiu por terra. E o Senhor bem-aventurado, de esplendor terrível (Rudra), disse-lhe: “Indra, não voltes jamais, de modo algum, a agir com tal arrogância.”

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'śakraḥ': 'Śakra

• Indra, lord of the gods', 'spṛṣṭa-mātraḥ': 'touched only (the very moment of being touched)', 'tayā': 'by her (instrumental singular, feminine)', 'srasta': 'slackened, loosened, drooping', 'aṅgaiḥ': 'with limbs (instrumental plural)', 'patitaḥ': 'fallen', 'abhūt': 'became

• came to be', 'dharaṇyām': 'on the earth/ground (locative)', 'tam': 'him', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• a divine, venerable being', 'ugra-tejāḥ': 'of fierce/terrible radiance

• intensely powerful', 'mā': 'do not (prohibitive particle)', 'evaṃ': 'thus, in this manner', 'punaḥ': 'again', 'kṛthāḥ': 'do (2nd person singular, imperative/optative sense)', 'kathaṃcit': 'in any way

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• शक्र (इन्द्र)
• भगवान् रुद्र (शिव)
• स्त्री (unnamed woman)
• धरणी (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that pride invites downfall: even Indra can be instantly weakened, and Rudra’s admonition frames humility as a necessary ethical restraint for the powerful.

What is happening in the narrative?

A woman touches Indra, and he immediately loses strength, his limbs slacken, and he collapses to the ground; Rudra then rebukes him, warning him not to behave arrogantly again.