Shloka 44

अश्रमवासिनां विषादः — Lament in Hastināpura after the Elders’ Forest Withdrawal

Devanagari script

यस्यास्तु श्वशुरो धीमान्‌ बाह्विक: स कुरूद्गवह: । निहतः सोमदत्तश्न पित्रा सह महारणे

Transliteration

yasyāstu śvaśuro dhīmān bāhvikaḥ sa kurūdgavaḥ | nihataḥ somadattaś ca pitrā saha mahāraṇe ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“她那睿智的公公巴赫利迦——俱卢族中最卓越者——已被杀。娑摩达多亦然，与其父同在那场大决战中战死。”

Word by Word

• यस्याः: of whom
• यस्याः: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

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

• श्वशुरः: father-in-law
• श्वशुरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वशुर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धीमान्: wise
• धीमान्: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धीमत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बाह्विकः: Bāhlika (name)
• बाह्विकः: Karta
• Type: ProperNoun
• Root: बाह्लिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरु-उद्गवः: best/foremost among the Kurus
• कुरु-उद्गवः: Apposition
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु + उद्गव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• निहतः: slain
• निहतः: Predicate
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• सोमदत्तः: Somadatta (name)
• सोमदत्तः: Karta
• Type: ProperNoun
• Root: सोमदत्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पित्रा: with (his) father
• पित्रा: Sahakarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सह: together with
• सह: Sahakarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह

• महा-रणे: in the great battle
• महा-रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा + रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bāhlika (Bāhvika)
• Somadatta
• Kuru dynasty
• Mahāraṇa (the great war/battle)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the sweeping, lineage-wide cost of war: even revered elders and protectors fall, intensifying the moral weight of violence and the inevitability of loss that follows conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recounts the deaths of Kuru elders—Bāhlika and Somadatta (with his father)—as part of the great war, explaining the depth of bereavement surrounding the surviving family members.