Shloka 18

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

Devanagari script

ततः शक्र: स्पृष्टमात्रस्तया तु स्रस्तैरड्रे: पतितो5भूद्‌ धरण्याम्‌ । तमब्रवीद्‌ भगवानुग्रतेजा मैवं पुन: शक्र कृथा: कथंचित्‌,तदनन्तर उस स्त्रीने ज्यों ही इन्द्रका स्पर्श किया, उनके सारे अंग शिथिल हो गये और वे धरतीपर गिर पड़े। तब उग्र तेजस्वी भगवान्‌ रुद्रने उनसे कहा--'इन्द्र! फिर किसी प्रकार भी ऐसा घमंड न करना

Transliteration

tataḥ śakraḥ spṛṣṭamātrā tayā tu srastair aṅgaiḥ patito 'bhūd dharaṇyām | tam abravīd bhagavān ugratejā māivaṃ punaḥ śakra kṛthāḥ kathaṃcit ||

Translation

Pagkaraan, si Śakra (Indra), sa sandaling mahawakan ng babae, ay nanghina ang lahat ng kanyang mga sangkap at bumagsak sa lupa. Noon, ang Mapalad na Panginoon na may mabagsik na ningning (Rudra) ay nagsalita sa kanya: “Indra—huwag na huwag, sa anumang paraan, muling kumilos nang may gayong pagmamataas.”

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'śakraḥ': 'Śakra

• Indra, lord of the gods', 'spṛṣṭa-mātraḥ': 'touched only (the very moment of being touched)', 'tayā': 'by her (instrumental singular, feminine)', 'srasta': 'slackened, loosened, drooping', 'aṅgaiḥ': 'with limbs (instrumental plural)', 'patitaḥ': 'fallen', 'abhūt': 'became

• came to be', 'dharaṇyām': 'on the earth/ground (locative)', 'tam': 'him', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke', 'bhagavān': 'the Blessed Lord

• a divine, venerable being', 'ugra-tejāḥ': 'of fierce/terrible radiance

• intensely powerful', 'mā': 'do not (prohibitive particle)', 'evaṃ': 'thus, in this manner', 'punaḥ': 'again', 'kṛthāḥ': 'do (2nd person singular, imperative/optative sense)', 'kathaṃcit': 'in any way

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• शक्र (इन्द्र)
• भगवान् रुद्र (शिव)
• स्त्री (unnamed woman)
• धरणी (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores that pride invites downfall: even Indra can be instantly weakened, and Rudra’s admonition frames humility as a necessary ethical restraint for the powerful.

What is happening in the narrative?

A woman touches Indra, and he immediately loses strength, his limbs slacken, and he collapses to the ground; Rudra then rebukes him, warning him not to behave arrogantly again.