Shloka 12

Devanagari script

कुण्डलाभ्यां विमुक्तो5हं वर्मणा सहजेन च । गमनीयो भविष्यामि शत्रूणां द्विजसत्तम,द्विजश्रेष्ठ इस सहज कवच और दोनों कुण्डलोंसे वंचित हो जानेपर मैं शत्रुओंका वध्य हो जाऊँगा (अतः इन्हें न माँगिये)!

Transliteration

kuṇḍalābhyāṃ vimukto ’haṃ varmaṇā sahajena ca | gamanīyo bhaviṣyāmi śatrūṇāṃ dvijasattama ||

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Se eu for privado dos meus dois brincos e da minha armadura inata, ó melhor dos brāhmaṇas, tornar-me-ei alguém que pode ser levado sem resistência—presa fácil para os meus inimigos. Portanto, não os peças.”

Word by Word

कुण्डलाभ्याम्by/with the two earrings

विमुक्तःdeprived of, freed from

अहम्I

वर्मणाby/with the armor

सहजेनinnate, inborn

चand

गमनीयःto be gone to; to be led away (i.e., to be slain/overpowered)

भविष्यामिI shall become / I will be

शत्रूणाम्of (my) enemies

द्विजसत्तमO best of the twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

dvijasattama (addressed Brahmin)

kuṇḍala (earrings)

sahaja-varman (inborn armor)

śatru (enemies)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between generosity and self-preservation: relinquishing one’s innate protections for the sake of a request can be morally admirable yet strategically ruinous, especially in a context of impending conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker states that losing the two earrings and the natural armor would make him vulnerable to enemies—effectively ‘easy to defeat’—and therefore urges the addressed Brahmin not to demand these protective items.