Shloka 6

Adhyāya 348: Nāga–Nīgabhāryā Saṃvāda on Anger, Hope, and Ethical Response

Devanagari script

मज्जन्ति पितरस्तस्य नरके शाश्वती: समा:

Transliteration

majjanti pitaras tasya narake śāśvatīḥ samāḥ

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Os antepassados desse homem afundam no inferno por anos eternos.”

Word by Word

• मज्जन्ति: sink, are immersed
• मज्जन्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: मज्ज् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, वर्तमान, प्रथम, बहुवचन, परस्मैपद

• पितरः: the ancestors (manes)
• पितरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तस्य: of him / his
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• नरके: in hell
• नरके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• शाश्वतीः: eternal, everlasting
• शाश्वतीः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाश्वत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• समाः: years
• समाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pitṛs (forefathers/ancestors)
• Naraka (hell)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One’s adharma can have far-reaching consequences: moral failure is portrayed as endangering not only the individual but also the welfare of one’s ancestors, reinforcing the duty to live righteously and uphold obligations to family and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a stern doctrinal warning within the Shānti Parva’s dharma-discourse: he states that due to a person’s wrongdoing (implied by context), that person’s forefathers are said to fall into naraka for enduring periods.