Shloka 37

Devanagari script

भोजराजस्य वृद्धस्य दुराचारो हाुनात्मवान्‌ । जीवत: पितुरैश्वर्य हृत्वा मृत्युवशं गत:

Transliteration

bhojarājasya vṛddhasya durācāro hātmavān | jīvataḥ pitur aiśvaryaṃ hṛtvā mṛtyuvaśaṃ gataḥ ||

Translation

Đứa con gian ác, tự chuốc lấy diệt vong của vị vua Bhoja già nua, đã cướp lấy vương quyền khi cha còn sống, và rốt cuộc rơi vào quyền lực của tử thần.

Word by Word

भोजराजस्यof the Bhoja-king

वृद्धस्यof the aged (one)

दुराचारःevil conduct; wickedness

हाalas!

अनात्मवान्without self-control; base-minded

जीवतःof (one) living; while (he) was alive

पितुःof the father

ऐश्वर्यम्sovereignty; lordship; power

हृत्वाhaving taken away; having seized

मृत्युवशम्into the power of death; death's control

गतःgone; has gone; has fallen (into)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhojarāja (king of the Bhojas)

the father (pituḥ)

the son described as durācāra

Mṛtyu (Death, personified)

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?

Seizing authority unlawfully—especially by dispossessing one’s living father—constitutes grave adharma and becomes self-destructive; such wrongdoing hastens downfall and invites death’s grasp.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports an example of moral collapse: a wicked son takes the sovereignty from his aged father while the father is still alive, and the usurper subsequently meets death—presented as a cautionary illustration about illegitimate power and its consequences.