Shloka 7

आह्वानमन्त्रप्रयोगः — Kuntī’s Invocations and the Birth-Portents of the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

हित्वा प्रासादनिलयं शुभानि शयनानि च । अरण्यनित्य: सततं बभूव मृगयापर:,भरतश्रेष्ठ! राजा पाण्डुने आलस्यको जीत लिया था। वे कुन्ती और माद्रीकी प्रेरणासे राजमहलोंका निवास और सुन्दर शय्याएँ छोड़कर वनमें रहने लगे। पाण्डु सदा वनमें रहकर शिकार खेला करते थे

Transliteration

hitvā prāsādanilayaṁ śubhāni śayanāni ca | araṇyanityaḥ satataṁ babhūva mṛgayāparaḥ, bharataśreṣṭha! rājā pāṇḍuḥ ||

Translation

قال فايشَمبايانا: لما هجر الملك باندو—يا خيرَ آلِ بهاراتا—مقامَه في القصر وأسرّتَه البهيّة، صار ساكنَ الغابة على الدوام، مواظبًا على الصيد لا يفتر. تُصوِّر هذه الأبياتُ زهدًا مقصودًا في نعيم المُلك، لكنها تومئ أيضًا إلى توتّرٍ أخلاقي: الاحتماء بالتقشّف مع البقاء متعلّقًا بالعنف عبر الصيد.

Word by Word

हित्वाhaving abandoned

प्रासाद-निलयम्the palace-dwelling/residence

शुभानिauspicious, fine

शयनानिbeds, couches

चand

अरण्य-नित्यःhabitually in the forest; forest-dwelling

सततम्always, continually

बभूवbecame; was

मृगया-परःdevoted to hunting

भरत-श्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍu

Bharata (as lineage reference)

prāsāda (palace)

araṇya (forest)

mṛgayā (hunting)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts external renunciation (leaving palace comforts) with inner tendencies (continued attachment to hunting). It invites reflection on dharma: true self-control is not only changing one’s location or lifestyle, but also transforming one’s impulses—especially those involving harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that King Pāṇḍu leaves the palace and luxurious beds and takes up continuous residence in the forest, where he spends his time engaged in hunting.