Shloka 32

Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly

Devanagari script

अटब्यां दुर्गकान्तारे सागरे गहने गिरौ । ये स्मरिष्यन्ति मां राजन्‌ यथाहं भवता स्मृता

Transliteration

aṭabyāṃ durgakāntāre sāgare gahane girau | ye smariṣyanti māṃ rājan yathāhaṃ bhavatā smṛtā ||

Translation

अटब्यां दुर्गकान्तारे सागरे गहने गिरौ । ये स्मरिष्यन्ति मां राजन् यथाहं भवता स्मृतः ॥

Word by Word

अटब्याम्in the forest

दुर्गin a fort/stronghold

कान्तारेin a wilderness

सागरेin the sea

गहनेin a dense/thick (place)

गिरौon a mountain

येthose who

स्मरिष्यन्तिwill remember

माम्me

राजन्O king

यथाas/just as

अहम्I

भवताby you

स्मृताremembered

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājan (the king addressed)

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 emphasizes the power of mindful remembrance of a trusted guide: in any extreme danger—forest, wilderness, sea, deep places, or mountains—calling to mind the helper in the right spirit becomes a means of receiving support and protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a king and assures him that just as the king has remembered (invoked) him, so too anyone who remembers him in perilous circumstances will be met with his presence/help—an assurance of reliable aid when properly called upon.