Shloka 9

सहदेव-दक्षिण-दिग्विजयः — Sahadeva’s Southern Conquest and the Māhiṣmatī–Agni Encounter

Devanagari script

पार्थ नेदं त्वया शक्‍्यं पुरं जेतुं कथंचन । उपावर्तस्व कल्याण पर्याप्तमिदमच्युत

Transliteration

pārtha nedaṁ tvayā śakyaṁ puraṁ jetuṁ kathaṁcana | upāvartasva kalyāṇa paryāptam idam acyuta ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «О Партха, ты никак не сможешь покорить этот город. Поверни назад, о благой. О Ачьюта (Acyuta), довольно того, что ты дошёл до этого места». Это суровое предостережение: вход в этот город считается гибельным; потому благоразумие и сохранение жизни ставятся выше безрассудной доблести, а само достижение порога признаётся значительным подвигом.

Word by Word

• पार्थ: O Partha (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• त्वया: by you
• त्वया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: Instrumental, Singular

• शक्यम्: possible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पुरम्: city
• पुरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• जेतुम्: to conquer
• Type: Verb
• Root: जि
• Form: Infinitive (Tumun)

• कथंचन: in any way; somehow (at all)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथंचन

• उपावर्तस्व: return; turn back
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-आ-वृत्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Atmanepada

• कल्याण: O auspicious one / O noble one
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कल्याण
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पर्याप्तम्: enough; sufficient
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर्याप्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इदम्: this (much)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अच्युत: O Achyuta (Krishna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अच्युत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Arjuna (Pārtha)
• Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa)
• the city (pura)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes discernment in action: valor is not mere recklessness. When a task is declared impossible or fatally destructive, dharma may lie in restraint and withdrawal, and in recognizing that reaching a perilous boundary can itself be a meaningful accomplishment.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports a warning addressed to Arjuna (Pārtha), also invoking Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa): the city cannot be conquered, so Arjuna is urged to turn back. The broader passage frames entry as leading to certain death and praises Arjuna for having come so far.