Shloka 39

Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ

King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt

Devanagari script

चकार पत्नीं कन्यां तु तथा तां गिरिकां नृपः । वसो: पत्नी तु गिरिका कामकालं न्यवेदयत्‌

Transliteration

cakāra patnīṃ kanyāṃ tu tathā tāṃ girikāṃ nṛpaḥ | vasoḥ patnī tu girikā kāmakālaṃ nyavedayat |

Translation

وَیشَمپایَن نے کہا— اور جو لڑکی تھی، بادشاہ نے اُسے اپنی زوجہ بنا لیا؛ اُس کا نام گِرِکا تھا۔ وَسو کی بیوی گِرِکا نے جب رِتُو کال آیا تو غسل کر کے پاک ہو کر، اولاد کے لیے موزوں وقت میں بادشاہ کے سامنے وصال کی خواہش ظاہر کی۔

Word by Word

• चकार: made, did
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद) / परोक्षभूत (Perfect), 3, singular

• पत्नीम्: as (his) wife
• पत्नीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• कन्याम्: the maiden, girl
• कन्याम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• गिरिकाम्: Girikā (name)
• गिरिकाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• वसोः: of Vasu
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• पत्नी: the wife
• पत्नी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्नी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• तु: indeed/and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• गिरिका: Girikā
• गिरिका: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरिका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• कामकालम्: the time for desire/union (proper season)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामकाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• न्यवेदयत्: informed, made known, requested
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (धातु) with नि + अव (निवेदयति)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect/past), 3, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Vasu (king)
• Girikā
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Lakṣmī
• forest
• fierce animals

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension a ruler faces when personal desire coincides with an overriding duty: Vasu honors the Pitṛs’ command without neglecting the narrative’s emphasis on proper season and purity for marital union, showing how dharma can require restraint and prioritization.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasu marries the maiden Girikā. When she expresses desire for union at the proper time for conception, the Pitṛs simultaneously order Vasu to go kill dangerous animals. He goes to the forest to obey them, though his mind remains absorbed in Girikā’s beauty.