Shloka 486

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

अयशो महदाप्रोति नरकांश्रैव गच्छति । “जो पुरुष स्त्रीकी रक्षा करना अपना कर्तव्य नहीं मानता अथवा जो स्त्रीकी रक्षा करनेमें असमर्थ है

Transliteration

ayasho mahad āpnoti narakāṃś caiva gacchati |

Translation

那俱罗宣言：凡不以护持妇女为己任者，或虽欲而不能护持者，今世必受大耻辱；身后亦注定堕入诸地狱。此言以护女为法（dharma）中不可推卸之义务，忽慢者将受世间与后世之双重报应。

Word by Word

• अयशः: disrepute, ill-fame
• अयशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयशस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आप्नोति: attains, obtains
• आप्नोति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: आप्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• नरकान्: hells
• नरकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• एव: indeed, certainly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• गच्छति: goes
• गच्छति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nakula

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Protection of women is presented as a mandatory aspect of dharma; neglecting it brings severe social dishonor (ayashaḥ) and grave posthumous consequences (going to narakas).

What is happening in the narrative?

Nakula is speaking in a didactic mode, emphasizing moral accountability: a man’s failure—whether by refusal or incapacity—to safeguard women is condemned both in worldly reputation and in the afterlife.