Shloka 243

शल्यस्य सेनापत्याभ्युपगमः | Śalya’s Acceptance of Command

Devanagari script

कृपणं वर्तयिष्यामि कृपणै: सह जीविकाम्‌ । “स्वयं बहुत-से भोग भोगकर और प्रचुर धन दान करके अब दीन पुरुषोंके साथ दीनतापूर्ण जीविकाका आश्रय ले किस प्रकार निर्वाह कर सकूँगा?

Transliteration

kṛpaṇaṁ vartayiṣyāmi kṛpaṇaiḥ saha jīvikām | svayaṁ bahu-śe bhogān bhuktvā ca pracuraṁ dhanaṁ dātvā ca idānīṁ dīna-puruṣaiḥ saha dīnatā-pūrṇāṁ jīvikām āśritya kathaṁ nirvāhaṁ kariṣyāmi?

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—“เราจะดำรงชีพอย่างอัตคัดร่วมกับคนอัตคัดได้อย่างไร?” เมื่อเราเคยเสวยสุขนานัปการและได้ให้ทานทรัพย์มากมายแล้ว บัดนี้จะไปพึ่งพาชีวิตยากไร้เคียงข้างคนยากไร้ เราจะทนดำรงอยู่ได้อย่างไร

Word by Word

कृपणम्wretchedly, miserably (a wretched state)

वर्तयिष्यामिI will maintain/lead (my life)

कृपणैःwith/among wretched (poor) men

सहtogether with

जीविकाम्livelihood, means of living

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

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 highlights the psychological and ethical tension between past prosperity and present hardship: attachment to former pleasures and status makes the acceptance of a humble livelihood feel unbearable. It implicitly points to the need for steadiness and detachment—recognizing that wealth and comfort are unstable, and that dignity in right conduct should not depend on external prosperity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s narration during the Shalya Parva context, a speaker voices anxiety about survival after a reversal of fortune—wondering how, after having enjoyed many pleasures and having given away much wealth, he can now live among the destitute by adopting a destitute means of living.