Shloka 6

Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)

Devanagari script

देवा ऊचु मर्त्या अमर्त्या: संवृत्ता न विशेषो$स्ति कश्नन । अविशेषादुद्धिजन्तो विशेषार्थमिहागता:,देवता बोले--जो मरणशील थे, वे अमर हो गये। अब हममें और उनमें कोई अन्तर नहीं रह गया। यह अन्तर मिट जानेसे ही हमें अधिक घबराहट हो रही है। हमारी विशेषता बनी रहे, इसीलिये हम यहाँ आये हैं

Transliteration

devā ūcuḥ—martyā amartyāḥ saṃvṛttā na viśeṣo 'sti kaścana | aviśeṣād udvijanto viśeṣārtham ihāgatāḥ ||

Translation

దేవతలు అన్నారు—“మరణశీలులైన వారు అమరులయ్యారు; ఇప్పుడు మాకూ వారికీ ఏ భేదమూ లేదు. ఈ భేదం తొలగిపోవడమే మాకు కలవరం. మా ప్రత్యేకత నిలిచేలా చేయమని కోరుతూ మేము ఇక్కడికి వచ్చాము.”

Word by Word

देवाःthe gods

ऊचुःsaid

मर्त्याःmortals

अमर्त्याःimmortals

संवृत्ताःhave become / have turned into

नnot

विशेषःdifference, distinction

अस्तिis, exists

कश्चनany (at all), some

अविशेषात्from the absence of distinction

उद्विजन्तःbeing anxious / agitated

विशेषार्थम्for the sake of distinction/superiority

इहhere

आगताःhave come

Speaker

पितामह उवाच

Characters & Entities

द

देवाः (the gods)

म

मर्त्याः (mortals)

अ

अमर्त्याः (immortals)

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?

The verse highlights a tension in maintaining cosmic order: when boundaries between mortal and immortal collapse, even the gods feel threatened. It suggests that roles and distinctions (viśeṣa) are seen as necessary for stability, and their erasure (aviśeṣa) produces anxiety and conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

The gods report that certain mortals have attained immortality, eliminating the usual difference between humans and gods. Alarmed by this, they approach the authority figure in the episode to seek a remedy that will preserve divine distinctiveness.