Shloka 20

बक-राक्षसस्य आह्वानम् तथा वृक्षयुद्धम्

Summons of Baka and the Tree-Weapon Engagement

Devanagari script

गव्यूतिमात्रादागत्य त्वरितो मातरं प्रति । शोकदुःखपरीतात्मा नि:शश्वासोरगो यथा,दो कोस दूरसे जल्दी-जल्दी चलकर भीमसेन अपनी माताके पास आये। उनका मन शोक और दु:खसे व्याप्त था और वे सर्पकी भाँति लंबी सांस खींच रहे थे

Transliteration

gavyūtimātrād āgatya tvarito mātaraṃ prati | śokaduḥkhaparītātmā niḥśaśvāsa urago yathā ||

Translation

Пройдя расстояние примерно в один гавьюти, он поспешил к матери. Его внутреннее существо было охвачено скорбью и горем, и он тяжело, протяжно дышал, словно змей,—знак нравственной тяжести случившегося и неотложной нужды искать у матери прибежища и совета.

Word by Word

गव्यूति-मात्रात्from (a distance of) only one gavyūti

आगत्यhaving come

त्वरितःhastened, in haste

मातरम्mother

प्रतिtowards

शोक-दुःख-परीत-आत्माone whose mind was overwhelmed by grief and sorrow

नि:शश्वासhe sighed/breathed out

उरगःa serpent

यथाas, like

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

mother (Kuntī, implied by context)

serpent (as simile)

gavyūti (distance measure)

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 intense grief can seize the mind and body, and how, in moments of moral and emotional crisis, one instinctively turns to trusted elders—here, the mother—for grounding, guidance, and restoration of dharmic clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A character (understood in context as Bhīmasena) rushes from a short distance to his mother, visibly shaken. His deep, serpent-like breathing conveys agitation and sorrow, preparing the scene for a consequential disclosure or counsel-seeking.