Shloka 16

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तथेत्युक्ता तु सा राजंस्तत्रैवान्तरधीयत,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! राजा प्रतीपने “तथास्तु” कहकर उसकी शर्त स्वीकार कर ली। तत्पश्चात्‌ वह वहीं अन्तर्धान हो गयी

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: tathety uktā tu sā rājan tatraivāntaradhīyata.

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «О царь, когда ей ответили: “Да будет так”, она исчезла тут же, на месте. Этот эпизод подчёркивает нравственную тяжесть слова правителя: раз условие принято, верность данному согласию становится обязательным долгом, даже если другая сторона скрылась из виду».

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

तथाthus/so

इतिthus (quotative)

उक्ताhaving been spoken/addressed

तुbut/indeed

साshe

राजन्O king

तत्रthere

एवindeed/just

अन्तर्धीयतdisappeared/vanished

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

King (Janamejaya as addressee in the frame narrative)

She (unnamed woman in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s assent (“tathāstu/ tatheti”) is not casual speech; it creates an ethical obligation. The verse highlights the dharmic seriousness of accepting conditions and the duty to honor one’s word even when circumstances change.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the king replies “So be it,” accepting her stated condition, the woman immediately vanishes on the spot, signaling that the agreement now stands and its consequences will unfold later.