Shloka 16

युधिष्ठिरकृष्णसंवादः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Appeal and Kṛṣṇa’s Assurance

Droṇa-parva, Adhyāya 59

Devanagari script

हव्यं कव्यं च विविध॑ निष्पूर्त हुतमेव च । चारों वेदोंके स्वाध्यायसे प्रसन्न हुए देवता तथा पितृगण नाना प्रकारके हव्य और कव्य प्राप्त करते थे। सब ओर इष्ट (यज्ञ-यागादि) और पूर्त (वापी, कूप, तडाग और वृक्षारोपण आदि) का अनुष्ठान होता रहता था ।। अदंशमशका देशा नष्टव्यालसरीसूपा:

Transliteration

havyaṃ kavyaṃ ca vividhaṃ niṣpūrta-hutam eva ca | cāroṃ vedoṃ ke svādhyāyase prasanna hue devatā tathā pitṛgaṇa nānā prakārake havya aur kavya prāpta karate the | saba ora iṣṭa (yajña-yāgādi) aura pūrta (vāpī, kūpa, taḍāga aura vṛkṣāropaṇa ādi) kā anuṣṭhāna hotā rahatā thā || adaṃśa-maśakā deśā naṣṭa-vyāla-sarīsṛpāḥ |

Translation

قال نارادا: «كانت هناك قرابين شتّى—هَفْيَا (havya) للآلهة وكَفْيَا (kavya) للـپِتْرِ (Pitṛs) أي الأسلاف—ومعها سكبُ القرابين على النار على وجهٍ تامّ. وقد سُرَّت الآلهة والپِتْرِ بتلاوة الفيدات الأربع ودراستها، فكانوا يتلقّون أنصبتهم على الدوام. وفي كل مكان كانت تُقام شعائر الإِشْتَا (iṣṭa) من عبادات القربان كاليَجْنَا (yajña)، وشعائر البُورْتَا (pūrta) من المنافع العامة كحفر الآبار وبناء الخزانات والبرك وغرس الأشجار. وكانت البلاد خالية من الحشرات اللاسعة والبعوض، وقد زالت الوحوش الضارية والهوامّ الزاحفة الخطرة.»

Word by Word

हव्यम्oblation to the gods (havis)

कव्यम्offering to the Pitṛs (ancestral oblation)

चand

विविधम्various, manifold

निष्पूर्तम्non-sacrificial meritorious works (pūrta: wells, tanks, etc.)

हुतम्offered, sacrificed (that which is poured into fire)

एवindeed, just

चand

अदंश-मशकाःgadflies and mosquitoes

देशाःregions, places

नष्ट-व्याल-सरीसृपाःwhere wild beasts and reptiles had disappeared

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Devatās (gods)

Pitṛs (ancestors)

Four Vedas

Havya offerings

Kavya offerings

Iṣṭa rites (yajñas)

Pūrta works (wells, ponds, reservoirs, tree-planting)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links societal well-being and safety to dharmic life: Vedic study (svādhyāya), proper sacrificial worship (iṣṭa), and public benefaction (pūrta) together sustain harmony between humans, gods, and ancestors, yielding prosperity and freedom from harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes an ideal, dharma-governed condition in which gods and ancestors are satisfied through offerings and Vedic recitation, while the community actively performs sacrifices and public works; as a result, the land becomes safe and free from pests and dangerous creatures.