Shloka 21

Sandhi–Vigraha in Āpada: The Mouse and the Cat (सन्धिविग्रहापदि—मूषकमार्जारसंवादः)

Devanagari script

ये च राष्ट्रोपरोधेन वृद्धि कुर्वन्ति केचन । तदैव ते<नुमार्यन्ते कुणपे कृमयो यथा

Transliteration

ye ca rāṣṭroparodhenā vṛddhiṃ kurvanti kecana | tadaiva te 'numāryante kuṇape kṛmayo yathā ||

Translation

凡以阻挠、损害邦国而求自进者，顷刻覆灭——如尸中之蛆，随尸而亡。

Word by Word

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

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

• राष्ट्रोपरोधेन: by obstructing/impairing the kingdom (state)
• राष्ट्रोपरोधेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राष्ट्रोपरोध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• वृद्धिम्: growth, prosperity
• वृद्धिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्धि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कुर्वन्ति: do, make
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present, Third, Plural

• केचन: some (people)
• केचन: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क-चन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तदा: then, at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

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

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अनुमार्यन्ते: are made to die / are destroyed
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृ
• Form: Present, Passive, Third, Plural

• कुणपे: in a carcass
• कुणपे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुणप
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• कृमयः: worms
• कृमयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृमि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यथा: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

कायव्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• rāṣṭra (the kingdom/state)
• kuṇapa (corpse/carcass)
• kṛmi (worms/maggots)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Personal gain achieved by damaging the kingdom (the public order and welfare) is adharma; it is unstable and leads to swift ruin, like worms that cannot survive apart from decay.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on conduct and governance, the speaker warns against opportunists who obstruct the realm for their own rise, using a stark simile (worms in a corpse) to stress the immediacy and inevitability of their downfall.