Mahabharata 1.157.4 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 157, Shloka 4

Vyāsa’s Counsel to the Concealed Pāṇḍavas; Śaṃkara’s Boon and the Predestination of Draupadī

Chapter 157

Devanagari script

चेरुभैक्षं तदा ते तु सर्व एव विशाम्पते । बभूवुर्नागराणां च स्वैर्गुणै: प्रियदर्शना:

Transliteration

cerubhaikṣaṃ tadā te tu sarva eva viśāmpate | babhūvur nāgarāṇāṃ ca svair guṇaiḥ priyadarśanāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Damals, o Herr des Volkes, lebten sie alle vom Almosengang. Und durch ihre eigenen vortrefflichen Eigenschaften wurden sie den Stadtbewohnern angenehm und lieb—Männer, deren bloßer Anblick Zuneigung und Achtung erweckte.“

Word by Word

• {'ceruḥ (√car)': 'they wandered / they lived (conducted themselves)', 'bhaikṣam': 'alms

• livelihood obtained by begging', 'tadā': 'then

• at that time', 'te': 'they (those persons)', 'tu': 'but/indeed (emphatic particle)', 'sarve eva': 'all indeed

• every one of them', 'viśāmpate': 'O lord of the people (vocative

• epithet of a king)', 'babhūvuḥ (√bhū)': 'they became', 'nāgarāṇām': 'of the citizens/townspeople', 'ca': 'and', 'svaiḥ guṇaiḥ': 'by their own virtues/excellent qualities', 'priyadarśanāḥ': 'pleasant to behold

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Pāṇḍavas (implied by context: 'te sarve')
• nāgarāḥ (citizens/townspeople)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in hardship, noble conduct and self-restraint (living on alms without resentment) preserve dignity; genuine virtues naturally win the goodwill of society.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells King Janamejaya that the brothers were sustaining themselves through alms while moving about, and that their admirable character made them beloved among the city-dwellers.