Shloka 38

Devanagari script

तयोर्धात्र्यौ सुसंवीते कृत्वा ते गर्भसम्प्लवे । निर्गम्यान्त:पुरद्वारात्‌ समुत्सृज्याभिजग्मतु:,उन दोनोंकी धायें गर्भके उन टुकड़ोंको कपड़ेसे ढककर अन्तःपुरके दरवाजेसे बाहर निकलीं और चौराहेपर फेंककर चली गयीं

Transliteration

tayor dhātryau susaṃvīte kṛtvā te garbhasamplave | nirgamyāntaḥpuradvārāt samutsṛjyābhijagmatuḥ ||

Translation

Then the two wet-nurses, having carefully wrapped those fragments of the foetus in cloth, went out through the inner-palace gate; casting them away at a public crossroads, they departed—an act meant to conceal the deed and avert blame, yet ethically marked by secrecy and the disposal of nascent life.

Word by Word

तयोःof those two

धात्र्यौthe two nursemaids

सुसंवीतेin (two) well-wrapped cloths

कृत्वाhaving done / having made

तेthose (pieces)

गर्भसम्प्लवेin the miscarriage / in the expulsion of the fetus

निर्गम्यhaving gone out

अन्तःपुरद्वारात्from the inner-apartment door

समुत्सृज्यhaving thrown away / having cast off

अभिजग्मतुःthey two went away

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

dhātryau (two wet-nurses)

antaḥpura (inner palace)

antaḥpuradvāra (inner-palace gate)

garbha (foetal remains/fragments)

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 how wrongdoing often seeks concealment—wrapping, exiting by a guarded gate, and discarding evidence—yet such secrecy itself signals adharma. Ethically, it underscores the gravity of actions involving vulnerable life and the karmic weight of attempts to hide harmful deeds.

What is happening in the narrative?

Two palace wet-nurses wrap the foetal fragments in cloth, leave through the inner-palace gate, and throw them away at a public crossroads before departing—suggesting an effort to dispose of evidence and prevent the incident from being traced back to the palace.