Shloka 37

Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

तस्यां द्वादशवार्षिक्यामनावृष्ट्यां महर्षय:

Transliteration

tasyāṁ dvādaśavārṣikyām anāvṛṣṭyāṁ maharṣayaḥ

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：在那十二年的大旱之中，诸大圣仙（maharṣi）亦与世间同受其苦——此段以苦难为共同的试炼，并凸显当自然不再扶持之时，守护达摩（dharma）的道义迫切。

Word by Word

• तस्याम्: in that (situation/time)
• तस्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• द्वादशवार्षिक्याम्: lasting twelve years (fem. loc.)
• द्वादशवार्षिक्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादशवार्षिकी
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अनावृष्ट्याम्: in the drought / in the absence of rain
• अनावृष्ट्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनावृष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• महर्षयः: great sages
• महर्षयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महर्षि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Maharṣis (great seers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse signals that prolonged drought is not merely a physical calamity but a dharmic crisis affecting even sages; it underscores the ethical demand to preserve right conduct, compassion, and social responsibility when resources collapse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana introduces a setting of a twelve-year rainless period (anāvṛṣṭi), indicating widespread distress in which the maharṣis too are involved—preparing the listener for events shaped by famine conditions.