Shloka 31

आदि पर्व, अध्याय 67 — गान्धर्वविवाह-समयः

Duḥṣanta–Śakuntalā: Gandharva Marriage and Succession Condition

Devanagari script

प्रह्दो नाम बाह्लीक: स बभूव नराधिप: । चन्द्रस्तु दितिजश्रेष्ठो लोके ताराधिपोपम:

Transliteration

prahdo nāma bāhlīkaḥ sa babhūva narādhipaḥ | candras tu ditijaśreṣṭho loke tārādhipopamaḥ ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «Царь по имени Прахда родился в роду бахликов. А Чандра, лучший из дайтьев, рожденных Дити, сияющий в мире, подобно владыке звезд (Луне), также родился правителем».

Word by Word

• प्रह्दः: Prahda (proper name)
• प्रह्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रह्द (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नाम: by name / named
• नाम: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)

• बाह्लीकः: Bāhlīka (proper name)
• बाह्लीकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्लीक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बभूव: became / came to be
• बभूव: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• नराधिपः: king (lord of men)
• नराधिपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चन्द्रः: Candra (proper name)
• चन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but / and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (निपात)

• दितिजश्रेष्ठः: best of the Daityas (sons of Diti)
• दितिजश्रेष्ठः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दितिजश्रेष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लोके: in the world
• लोके: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• ताराधिपोपमः: like the lord of stars (the moon)
• ताराधिपोपमः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ताराधिपोपम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Prahda
• Bāhlīka (people/lineage/region)
• Candra (Daitya named Candra)
• Diti (as progenitrix implied by ‘ditija’)
• Daityas/Asuras (implied class)
• Tārādhipa (the Moon as ‘lord of stars’, used as a simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores that worldly power and royal birth can arise from diverse—sometimes non-divine—origins; therefore, ethical worth is not guaranteed by lineage or splendor. In the epic’s moral frame, dharma is assessed by conduct (self-control, justice, restraint), not merely by might or fame.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a catalogue describing how formidable Daityas/Asuras manifest among human rulers. Here he names Prahda as a Bāhlīka king and mentions the Daitya Candra, described as Moon-like in radiance, as taking birth in the world in royal form.