Shloka 37

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पश्चात्तापः तथा वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse and Request for Forest-Retirement

Devanagari script

चारैरविंदित्वा शत्रूंश्व ये राज्ञामन्तरैषिण:

Transliteration

cārair avinditvā śatrūṃś ca ye rājñām antaraiṣiṇaḥ

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: Aqueles que, agindo como espiões e agentes secretos, descobriram os inimigos e buscaram as vulnerabilidades ocultas nos assuntos dos reis—tais homens operavam por dentro, sondando brechas e fraquezas.

Word by Word

चारैःby spies

अविन्दित्वाhaving found / having ascertained

शत्रून्enemies

चand

येwho (those who)

राज्ञाम्of kings

अन्तरैषिणःseeking an opportunity/weak point (lit. seeking the 'inside')

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

spies (cāra)

kings (rājānaḥ)

enemies (śatru)

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 the role of intelligence-gathering in governance: rulers face threats not only openly but also through hidden weaknesses, and agents who uncover internal vulnerabilities become crucial to political survival—raising ethical questions about secrecy, surveillance, and righteous state protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes people who operate as spies, identifying enemies and searching for the inner secrets or weak points of kings—depicting the mechanisms of royal security and political maneuvering in the background of the larger events.