Mahabharata — Ashramavasika Parva, Shloka 2236

अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal

Devanagari script

मुहूर्तमिव संचिन्त्य वचनायोपचक्रमे । अमित बुद्धिमान्‌ महर्षि व्यासके ऐसा कहनेपर महाराज धृतराष्ट्रने दो घड़ीतक विचार करके इस प्रकार कहना आरम्भ किया

Transliteration

muhūrtam iva sañcintya vacanāyopacakrame | amitabuddhimān maharṣiḥ vyāsaḥ ||

Translation

ครั้นเขาครุ่นคิดอยู่ชั่วครู่ ก็เริ่มกล่าวถ้อยคำ แล้วมหาฤๅษีวยาส ผู้มีปัญญาอันหาประมาณมิได้ ก็ได้ดำเนินวาจาของตนต่อไป

Word by Word

• मुहूर्तम्: for a moment
• मुहूर्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुहूर्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: as if / like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• सञ्चिन्त्य: having reflected
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-चिन्त्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• वचनाय: for speaking / to speak
• वचनाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• उपचक्रमे: he began / set about
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप-क्रम्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vyāsa
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical discipline of pausing to reflect before speaking. Deliberation (sañcintya) is presented as a mark of wisdom, especially when words carry moral and relational consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator indicates a brief pause of thought, after which the speaker begins to speak. In the surrounding context of Āśramavāsika Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s measured response and Vyāsa’s authoritative presence frame a serious exchange about duty, consequence, and the path after the war.