Shloka 22

अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त: स राजेन्द्रो व्यासेनामितबुद्धिना

Transliteration

evam uktaḥ sa rājendro vyāsenāmitabuddhinā

Translation

Assim interpelado por Vyāsa, de sabedoria incomensurável, aquele rei, o primeiro entre os reis, escutou—pronto para responder de acordo com o dharma e com o conselho de um vidente cuja visão ultrapassa o juízo comum.

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• उक्तः: having been spoken to / addressed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजेन्द्रः: king of kings / best of kings
• राजेन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• व्यासेन: by Vyasa
• व्यासेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यास
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अमितबुद्धिना: of immeasurable intellect
• अमितबुद्धिना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अमितबुद्धि
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• rājendra (the king, unspecified in this half-verse)
• Vaiśampāyana (speaker)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of guidance from a realized sage: a ruler’s decisions should be shaped by dharma-informed counsel rather than personal impulse, especially in the morally complex aftermath of great events.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that the king has just been spoken to by Vyāsa, described as possessing immeasurable wisdom; the line sets up the king’s ensuing reaction or decision in the Ashramavāsika context.