Shloka 7

Śiśupāla-janma-lakṣaṇaṃ (Śiśupāla’s birth marks and the prophecy of his end)

Devanagari script

प्रसुप्ते हि यथा सिंहे श्वानस्तस्मिन्‌ समागता: । भषेयु: सहिता: सर्वे तथेमे वसुधाधिपा:

Transliteration

prasupte hi yathā siṁhe śvānastasmin samāgatāḥ | bhaṣeyuḥ sahitāḥ sarve tatheme vasudhādhipāḥ ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—నిద్రించుచున్న సింహమునకు చుట్టూ కుక్కలు చేరి, అన్నీ కలసి మొరుగునట్లు, అలాగే ఈ వసుధాధిపతులైన రాజులు కూడా (క్షణిక నిష్క్రియతను చూచి) సమూహముగా చేరి హడావుడి చేస్తున్నారు.

Word by Word

प्रसुप्तेwhen (he is) asleep

हिindeed/for

यथाas/just as

सिंहेin/with regard to the lion

श्वानःdogs

तस्मिन्in/at him (there)

समागताःhaving assembled/come together

भषेयुःwould bark

सहिताḥtogether/united

सर्वेall

तथाso/likewise

इमेthese

वसुधाधिपाःlords of the earth/kings

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

siṁha (lion)

śvānaḥ (dogs)

vasudhādhipāḥ (kings/rulers of the earth)

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 critiques opportunistic bravado: the weak become noisy and aggressive only when the truly powerful are inactive or restrained. Ethically, it warns rulers against joining unjust majorities and mistaking temporary advantage for real strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana uses a vivid simile—dogs barking at a sleeping lion—to describe how assembled kings, emboldened by numbers, act insolently when a formidable figure is momentarily unable or unwilling to respond.