Shloka 2

हंस–साध्यसंवादः, वाक्-निग्रहः, महाकुल-लक्षणम्, शान्ति-उपायः

Hamsa–Sādhya Dialogue; Restraint of Speech; Marks of Noble Lineage; Means to Peace

Devanagari script

दानवेन्द्रस्य च धनुरनाम्यं नमतो<ब्रवीत्‌ । अथो मरीचिन: पादानग्राह्मान्‌ गृह्लतस्तथा

Transliteration

dānavendrasya ca dhanur anāmyaṃ namato 'bravīt | atho marīcinaḥ pādān agrāhyān gṛhlatas tathā ||

Translation

毗度罗曰：“大王，毗奇多罗毗利耶之子！自生摩奴称此等人为：以拳击天者，欲弯不可弯者——如雨季因陀罗之虹——又欲执不可执之日光者。言其所为，皆被判为徒劳。”

Word by Word

• दानव-इन्द्रस्य: of the lord of the Danavas
• दानव-इन्द्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानवेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

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

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनाम्यम्: not bendable, impossible to bend
• अनाम्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-नाम्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• नमतः: of (him) trying to bend / while bending
• नमतः: Sambandha
• Type: Verb
• Root: नम्
• Form: Shatr (present active participle), Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अब्रवीत्: said, spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• उ: indeed (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ

• मरीचिनः: of Marichi
• मरीचिनः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: मरीचि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पादान्: feet
• पादान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अग्राह्यान्: not to be grasped, unseizable
• अग्राह्यान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-ग्राह्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गृह्णतः: of (him) trying to seize / while seizing
• गृह्णतः: Sambandha
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: Shatr (present active participle), Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तथा: likewise, so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

विदुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vidura
• Vicitravīrya
• Svāyambhuva Manu
• Indra (via Indra’s rainbow)
• Sun (via sunrays)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Vidura teaches that certain pursuits are inherently impossible and therefore ethically and practically misguided; wise counsel is to recognize limits, abandon futile striving, and choose actions aligned with dharma and reality.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva, Vidura advises the Kuru king (addressed as Vicitravīrya’s son) by citing Svāyambhuva Manu’s examples of futile endeavors—bending the unbendable and grasping the ungraspable—to warn against stubborn, self-defeating policies that lead toward conflict.