Shloka 30

Devanagari script

पुत्रदारकुट॒म्बेषु सक्ता: सीदन्ति जन्तव: । सर:पड्कार्णवे मग्ना जीर्णा वनगजा इव,स्त्री-पुत्र और कुट॒म्बमें आसक्त रहनेवाले प्राणी उसी प्रकार कष्ट पाते हैं, जैसे जंगलके बूढ़े हाथी तालाबके दलदलमें फँसकर दुःख उठाते हैं

Transliteration

putradārakuṭumbeṣu saktāḥ sīdanti jantavaḥ | saraḥ-paṅkārṇave magnā jīrṇā vanagajā iva ||

Translation

Disse Nārada: As criaturas que se apegam à esposa, aos filhos e ao lar afundam na aflição—como velhos elefantes selvagens que, presos no lodo de um lago, sofrem sem poder reagir.

Word by Word

पुत्रin sons

दारin wives

कुटुम्बेषुin families/households

सक्ताःattached, clinging

सीदन्तिsink; suffer; become distressed

जन्तवःcreatures, beings

सरःin a lake

पङ्कार्णवेin a sea of mud; in muddy mire

मग्नाःsunk, immersed, stuck

जीर्णाःworn out, old

वनगजाःforest-elephants

इवlike, as

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

sons/children (putra)

wife (dāra)

household/family (kuṭumba)

lake/pond (saraḥ)

mud/mire (paṅka)

wild/forest elephants (vanagaja)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Excessive attachment to spouse, children, and household becomes a form of bondage that causes suffering; one should cultivate discernment and detachment so that family life does not turn into spiritual entrapment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is instructing the listener through a vivid simile: beings engrossed in domestic attachments are compared to aged wild elephants trapped in a lake’s mire, unable to free themselves and therefore enduring pain.