Shloka 12

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

Devanagari script

तदद्धुत॑ प्रेक्ष्य वज्जी तदानी- मपृच्छत्‌ तां योषितमन्तिकाद्‌ वै | का त्वं भद्रे रोदिषि कस्य हेतो- वॉक्यं तथ्यं कामये<हं ब्रवीहि,यह अद्भुत दृश्य देखकर वज्रधारी इन्द्रने उस समय उस युवतीके निकट जाकर पूछा --'भद्रे! तुम कौन हो और किसलिये रोती हो? बताओ, मैं तुमसे सच्ची बात जानना चाहता हूँ!

Transliteration

tad adbhutaṁ prekṣya vajrī tadānīm apṛcchat tāṁ yoṣitam antikād vai | kā tvaṁ bhadre rodiṣi kasya hetoḥ vākyaṁ tathyaṁ kāmaye ’haṁ bravīhi ||

Translation

ครั้นเห็นอัศจรรย์นั้น อินทราผู้ทรงวัชระก็เข้าไปใกล้แล้วถามว่า “แม่ผู้เจริญ เจ้าเป็นใคร และเหตุใดจึงร่ำไห้ เราปรารถนาจะฟังความจริง จงกล่าวแก่เราเถิด”

Word by Word

• {'tad': 'that', 'adbhutam': 'wondrous, marvelous, extraordinary', 'prekṣya': 'having seen, after observing', 'vajrī': 'the thunderbolt-bearer

• Indra', 'tadānīm': 'at that time, then', 'apṛcchat': 'asked, inquired', 'tām': 'her', 'yoṣitam': 'woman, young woman', 'antikāt': 'from near

• nearby', 'vai': 'indeed, certainly (emphatic particle)', 'kā': 'who?', 'tvam': 'you', 'bhadre': 'O auspicious/gentle one (vocative of address)', 'rodiṣi': 'you weep, you cry', 'kasya': 'of what/whose?', 'hetoḥ': 'cause, reason', 'vākyaṁ': 'speech, statement, words', 'tathyam': 'true, truthful, factual', 'kāmaye': 'I desire, I wish', 'aham': 'I', 'bravīhi': 'tell (me), speak'}

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Indra (Vajrī, Vajradhārī)
• Unnamed young woman (yoṣit)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds a dharmic mode of engagement: approach with attentiveness, ask directly yet respectfully, and seek truthful speech (tathyam) rather than rumor or assumption—linking ethical inquiry with compassion for another’s suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

After witnessing an extraordinary event, Indra (the thunderbolt-bearer) goes near an unidentified young woman who is crying and asks her identity and the cause of her grief, requesting that she speak the truth.