Shloka 47

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

आकाशं तदपानीयं घोरं कान्तारदर्शनम्‌ । न तत्र वृक्षच्छाया वा पानीयं केतनानि च

Transliteration

ākāśaṃ tadapānīyaṃ ghoraṃ kāntāradarśanam | na tatra vṛkṣacchāyā vā pānīyaṃ ketanāni ca ||

Translation

“அந்தப் பகுதி நீரற்றது; வானம்போல் வெறுமையாகத் தோன்றியது; பார்ப்பதற்கே அச்சமூட்டும் காட்டுப்பாழ்நிலம். அங்கே மரநிழலும் இல்லை, குடிநீரும் இல்லை, குடியிருப்போ அடைக்கலமோ எதுவும் இல்லை.”

Word by Word

आकाशम्waterless sky / open expanse (here: waterless region)

तत्that

अपानीयम्without water

घोरम्terrible

कान्तार-दर्शनम्having the appearance of a wilderness

नnot

तत्रthere

वृक्ष-छायाshade of trees

वाor

पानीयम्drinking water

केतनानिdwellings, habitations

चand

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

ākāśa (sky/open expanse)

kāntāra (wilderness/forest)

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 underscores the ethical and psychological dimension of endurance: in exile or adversity, the absence of basic supports (water, shade, shelter) tests resolve and character, highlighting the need for steadiness and disciplined perseverance.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying, desolate stretch of wilderness—likened to an empty sky—where travelers find neither shade from trees, nor drinking water, nor any habitation, emphasizing the severity of the forest conditions.