Shloka 37

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पश्चात्तापः तथा वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse and Request for Forest-Retirement

Devanagari script

चारैरविंदित्वा शत्रूंश्व ये राज्ञामन्तरैषिण:

Transliteration

cārair avinditvā śatrūṃś ca ye rājñām antaraiṣiṇaḥ

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：那些充当间谍与密探之人，探知敌寇，并在诸王政务之中搜寻隐伏的破绽——此等人自内而作，窥伺可乘之隙，试探其软弱之处。

Word by Word

• चारैः: by spies
• चारैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अविन्दित्वा: having found / having ascertained
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (लभे/ज्ञाने) + अव- (उपसर्ग)
• Form: क्त्वा (अव्ययभावे), Parasmaipada/Atmanepada-neutral (absolutive), Non-finite (absolutive)

• शत्रून्: enemies
• शत्रून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राज्ञाम्: of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अन्तरैषिणः: seeking an opportunity/weak point (lit. seeking the 'inside')
• अन्तरैषिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्तरैषिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• spies (cāra)
• kings (rājānaḥ)
• enemies (śatru)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the role of intelligence-gathering in governance: rulers face threats not only openly but also through hidden weaknesses, and agents who uncover internal vulnerabilities become crucial to political survival—raising ethical questions about secrecy, surveillance, and righteous state protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes people who operate as spies, identifying enemies and searching for the inner secrets or weak points of kings—depicting the mechanisms of royal security and political maneuvering in the background of the larger events.