Shloka 20

Ādi-parva 109: Pāṇḍu’s Forest Hunt and Kiṃdama’s Curse (पाण्डोर्मृगयावृत्तान्तः—किंदमशापः)

Devanagari script

इतिहासपुराणेषु नानाशिक्षासु बोधिता: । वेदवेदाड्तत्त्वज्ञा: सर्वत्र कृतनिश्चया:,उन्हें इतिहास, पुराण तथा नाना प्रकारके शिष्टाचारोंका भी ज्ञान कराया गया। वे वेद- वेदांगोंके तत्त्वज्ञ तथा सर्वत्र एक निश्चित सिद्धान्तके माननेवाले थे

Transliteration

itihāsa-purāṇeṣu nānā-śikṣāsu bodhitāḥ | veda-vedāṅga-tattva-jñāḥ sarvatra kṛta-niścayāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sagte: Man unterwies sie in den Itihāsas und Purāṇas und schulte sie in vielen Disziplinen rechter Bildung und guten Betragens. Sie kannten den wahren Sinn der Veden und ihrer Hilfswissenschaften (Vedāṅgas) und standen in allem fest in wohlbegründeter Überzeugung, geleitet von einem beständigen Grundsatz.

Word by Word

इतिहासपुराणेषुin the Itihasas and Puranas

नानाvarious, many kinds of

शिक्षासुin teachings/instructions

बोधिताःwere instructed/taught

वेदवेदाङ्गतत्त्वज्ञाःknowers of the truth/essence of the Vedas and Vedangas

सर्वत्रeverywhere/in all matters

कृतनिश्चयाःof firm resolve; having made a definite conclusion

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Veda

Vedāṅga

Itihāsa

Purāṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True learning is presented as comprehensive: mastery of revered narrative traditions (Itihāsa–Purāṇa), disciplined training in conduct and instruction (nānā-śikṣā), and principled understanding of the Veda with its auxiliaries. Such education yields steadiness of judgment (kṛta-niścaya) rather than mere information.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker describes the thorough education of the concerned persons: they have been taught epic and purāṇic lore, trained in multiple disciplines, and have attained authoritative understanding of Vedic and Vedāṅga principles, resulting in firm, consistent convictions in all matters.