Shloka 32

Devanagari script

सो5हमद्य गमिष्यामि गति पितृनिषेविताम्‌ । न शव्नोम्यात्मना55त्मानमहं धारयितुं शुभे,'परंतु शुभे! अब मैं इस शरीरको धारण नहीं कर सकता। आज मैं भी उस मार्गपर जाऊँगा, जहाँ मेरे पिताजी गये हैं

Transliteration

so 'ham adya gamiṣyāmi gatiṁ pitṛ-niṣevitām | na śaknomy ātmanātmānam ahaṁ dhārayituṁ śubhe ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను— “అందుచేత ఈ రోజు నేను పితృులు నడిచిన మార్గానికే వెళ్లుదును. ఓ శుభాంగి! నా అంతఃశక్తితో ఇక ఈ దేహాన్ని నేను ధరించలేను.”

Word by Word

सःthat (I)

अहम्I

अद्यtoday

गमिष्यामिI shall go

गतिम्path/way, destination

पितृनिषेविताम्frequented/visited by the fathers (ancestors)

नnot

शक्नोमिI am able

आत्मनाby (my) self

आत्मानम्self

अहम्I

धारयितुम्to hold/bear/sustain

शुभेO auspicious one (O fair lady)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

pitaraḥ (ancestors/fathers)

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 underscores impermanence and the limits of bodily endurance: when one’s sustaining inner strength fails, one accepts departure as a return to the ancestral course. Ethically, it frames death not as defeat but as a dignified transition aligned with lineage and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) declares an imminent death: he can no longer bear the body and will go the way his forefathers went. The address “śubhe” indicates he is speaking to a woman present in the scene, conveying a final resolve and farewell.