Shloka 19

Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Devanagari script

नाहं राज्यफलं पुत्रा: कामये पुत्रनिर्जितम्‌ । पतिलोकानहं पुण्यान्‌ कामये तपसा विभो

Transliteration

nāhaṁ rājyaphalaṁ putrāḥ kāmaye putranirjitam | patilokān ahaṁ puṇyān kāmaye tapasā vibho putro |

Translation

诸子啊，我不愿享受由我儿所赢得的王国之果。勇力之人啊，我所求者，乃以苦行之力积聚功德，得往我夫君的清净福界。

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: common, nominative, singular

• राज्यफलम्: fruit of kingship (royal reward)
• राज्यफलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राज्यफल
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• पुत्राः: O sons
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: masculine, vocative, plural

• कामये: I desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम् (कामयति)
• Form: present, first, singular, parasmaipada

• पुत्रनिर्जितम्: won by (my) son(s)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुत्रनिर्जित
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• पतिलोकान्: worlds/realms of (my) husband
• पतिलोकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतिलोक
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: common, nominative, singular

• पुण्यान्: holy, meritorious
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• कामये: I desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: कम् (कामयति)
• Form: present, first, singular, parasmaipada

• तपसा: by austerity
• तपसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: neuter, instrumental, singular

• विभो: O mighty one / O lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: विभु
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana (narrator/speaker tag)
• sons (putrāḥ)
• husband (pati)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly rewards—even royal prosperity gained through one’s children—are treated as secondary to dharma pursued through self-restraint. The verse upholds renunciation and tapas as a means to spiritual merit and a higher goal (the blessed realm associated with one’s husband), emphasizing detachment from political power and its pleasures.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Ashramavāsika context, an elder woman addresses her sons, refusing to enjoy the benefits of a kingdom obtained by her son. She declares her intention to undertake austerities, aiming for the meritorious ‘world of the husband’ rather than remaining attached to courtly life and its comforts.