Shloka 4

Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)

Devanagari script

ननु त्वमार्यधर्मज्ञा ननु चासि पतिव्रता । यत्त्वस्कृतेड्यं पतित: पतिस्ते निहतो रणे

Transliteration

nanu tvam āryadharmajñā nanu cāsi pativratā | yat tvat-kṛte īḍyaṁ patitaḥ patiḥ te nihato raṇe |

Translation

毗舍波耶那说：“你确实通晓高贵的达摩之道，也确实是守夫之誓的贞妇。然而正因你所为，你那本应受敬的丈夫，如今倒在战场上，被杀而亡。”

Word by Word

• ननु: indeed; surely; is it not?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ननु

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• आर्यधर्मज्ञा: knower of noble (Arya) dharma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्यधर्मज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• ननु: and indeed; is it not?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ननु

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

• असि: you are
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present (Lat), 2nd, Singular

• पतिव्रता: devoted to (vowed to) her husband
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतिव्रता
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• यत्: since; because
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्

• त्वत्: from you; because of you
• त्वत्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Ablative, Singular

• कृते: in/through the deed; in the act (done)
• कृते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृ
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• इदम्: this
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पतितः: fallen; lying fallen
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पतिः: husband
• पतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ते: your
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• निहतः: slain; killed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• the wife addressed (unnamed here)
• the husband (unnamed here)
• battlefield (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moral accountability: knowledge of dharma and the ideal of marital devotion are meaningless if one’s actions lead to harm. It underscores the ethical tension between professed virtue and the real consequences of conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker points a reproachful finger at a woman described as dharma-knowing and devoted, accusing her that through her deed her honored husband has been killed and now lies fallen on the battlefield.