Shloka 253

Devanagari script

अपश्यन्त्या: प्रियं पुत्र॑ यन्न दीर्यति मेड्द्य वै । “राजाओ! अवश्य ही मेरा हृदय पत्थर और लोहेका बना हुआ है, तभी तो अपने प्रिय पुत्रको जीवित न देखकर भी आज यह फट नहीं जाता है

Transliteration

apaśyantyāḥ priyaṃ putraṃ yan na dīryati medhyavai | rājāo! avaśya hi me hṛdayaṃ pāṣāṇa-lohakasam idaṃ bhūtaṃ, tenaiva priyaputraṃ jīvantaṃ na paśyanty api adya na vidīryate |

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను— ఓ రాజా! నా హృదయం నిశ్చయంగా రాయి, ఇనుముతో చేసినదే; ఎందుకంటే నేడు కూడా నా ప్రియ కుమారుని జీవించి ఉన్నట్లు చూడకపోయినా ఇది చీలిపోవడం లేదు.

Word by Word

अपश्यन्त्याःof (me) not seeing

प्रियंdear (one)

पुत्रम्son

यत्because/that (relative)

नnot

दीर्यतिis torn/splits

मेmy/of me

हृदयम्heart

वैindeed

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

King (addressed as rājā)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the extremity of parental grief and the paradox of survival after loss: when the heart does not break, it can feel like a hardening into stone and iron. Ethically, it underscores compassion for mourners and the recognition that endurance may come with numbness rather than strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating to the king, conveys a lament in which the speaker marvels that despite not seeing the beloved son alive, the heart has not shattered—expressing shock, sorrow, and emotional desolation.