Shloka 29

बक-राक्षसस्य आह्वानम् तथा वृक्षयुद्धम्

Summons of Baka and the Tree-Weapon Engagement

Devanagari script

त्रिषु लोकेषु यो राज्यं धर्मनित्यो$र्हते नृप: । सो<यं भूमौ परिश्रान्तः शेते प्राकृतवत्‌ कथम्‌,“जो नित्य धर्मपरायण नरेश तीनों लोकोंका राज्य पानेके अधिकारी हैं, वे ही आज साधारण मनुष्योंकी भाँति थके-माँदे पृथ्वीपर कैसे पड़े हैं

Transliteration

triṣu lokeṣu yo rājyaṃ dharmanityo 'rhate nṛpaḥ | so 'yaṃ bhūmau pariśrāntaḥ śete prākṛtavat katham ||

Translation

ధర్మనిష్ఠుడై త్రిలోక రాజ్యానికి అర్హుడైన ఆ నృపుడు, ఈ రోజు అలసిపోయి సామాన్య మనిషిలా భూమిపై ఎలా శయనిస్తున్నాడు?

Word by Word

त्रिषुin three

लोकेषुin the worlds

यःwho

राज्यम्kingdom, sovereignty

धर्मनित्यःever steadfast in dharma

अर्हतेis entitled to, deserves

नृपःthe king

सःhe

अयम्this (very one)

भूमौon the ground/earth

परिश्रान्तःutterly exhausted

शेतेlies, rests

प्राकृतवत्like an ordinary person

कथम्how?

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

nṛpa (the king, unnamed in this verse)

tri-loka (the three worlds)

bhūmi (the earth/ground)

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?

Even one who is supremely qualified by dharma and merit for the highest sovereignty can be brought low by circumstance; the verse highlights the contrast between ethical worthiness and the vulnerability of embodied life, prompting reflection on impermanence and compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana expresses astonishment and concern on seeing a righteous king—fit to rule the three worlds—lying exhausted on the bare earth like an ordinary person, setting a tone of inquiry into the causes of this reversal.