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Shloka 16

Adhyaya 1 — Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds

Sanskrit

कथञ्च द्रौपदेयास्तेऽकृतदाराः महारथाः ।

पाण्डुनाथा महात्मानो वधमापुरनाथवत् ॥

Transliteration

kathañca draupadeyās te 'kṛtadārā mahārathāḥ /

pāṇḍunāthā mahātmāno vadham āpur anāthavat //

Translation

又如何德罗帕蒂（Draupadī）之子——诸大车战士——虽尚未婚配，连同般度（Pāṇḍu）那高贵之子，竟如同无护佑者一般遭遇死亡？

Word by Word
kathamhow?
katham:
Avyaya (अव्यय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootkatham (अव्यय)
FormInterrogative adverb (प्रश्नवाचक अव्यय)
caand
ca:
Avyaya (अव्यय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
draupadeyāḥthe Draupadeyas (Draupadī’s sons)
draupadeyāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता)
TypeNoun
Rootdraupadeya (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "sons of Draupadī"
tethose
te:
Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
TypeNoun
Roottad (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; demonstrative pronoun
akṛta-dārāḥunmarried
akṛta-dārāḥ:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
TypeAdjective
Roota- (नञ्) + kṛta (कृदन्त, क्त from √kṛ) + dāra (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; compound meaning "not having taken wives / unmarried" qualifying draupadeyāḥ
mahā-rathāḥgreat warriors
mahā-rathāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
TypeNoun
Rootmahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ratha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; title meaning "great chariot-warriors"
pāṇḍu-nāthāḥPāṇḍu’s (descendants) / Pāṇḍava-related
pāṇḍu-nāthāḥ:
Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
TypeNoun
Rootpāṇḍu (प्रातिपदिक) + nātha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "having Pāṇḍu as lord" i.e., Pāṇḍava lineage; used as epithet
mahātmānaḥgreat-souled ones
mahātmānaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता) (appositional)
TypeNoun
Rootmahā (प्रातिपदिक) + ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; "great-souled" epithet
vadhamdeath / slaughter
vadham:
Karma (कर्म)
TypeNoun
Rootvadha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular
āpuḥattained / met with
āpuḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया)
TypeVerb
Root√āp (धातु); āpuḥ (तिङन्त)
FormPerfect (लिट्/liṭ), 3rd Person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural; Parasmaipada
anātha-vatlike the helpless / as if without a protector
anātha-vat:
Avyaya (अव्यय) (manner)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootanātha (प्रातिपदिक) + vat (तद्धित प्रत्यय)
FormComparative adverbial suffix -वत् (vat) forming indeclinable manner expression
Speakers
Jaimini to Mārkaṇḍeya (questioning within the opening frame)
Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "shanta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes
Itihāsa integration (Mahābhārata)Dharma and destinyKarmic consequence and vulnerability despite meritFrame-narrative inquiry

FAQs

The verse highlights a recurring Purāṇic-Itihāsa concern: worldly excellence (mahāratha status) and even noble birth (pāṇḍunāthāḥ, mahātmānaḥ) do not guarantee protection from calamity. It frames a dharmic question about how apparent merit can still culminate in tragic outcomes—inviting an explanation in terms of fate (daiva), human agency (puruṣakāra), and residual karma.

This verse functions primarily as a narrative prompt within the Purāṇa’s dialogic frame rather than directly presenting sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita data. Indirectly, it leans toward Vaṃśānucarita/Itihāsa-style recounting (accounts of royal lineages and their deeds), since it concerns the Pāṇḍava line and an event tied to dynastic history.

Symbolically, “anāthavat” (as if unprotected) points to the fragility of reliance on external supports—status, lineage, or martial prowess. Esoterically, it gestures toward the Purāṇic view that true “nātha” (protector) is dharma itself (and ultimately the divine order), so when circumstances strip away visible protectors, the text invites inquiry into subtler causality and the hidden workings of time (kāla).

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