Shloka 18

Gaṅgādvāra-tīrtha, Ulūpī-saṃvāda, and Arjuna’s Dharma-Deliberation (गङ्गाद्वार-तीर्थम्, उलूपी-संवादः)

Devanagari script

अद्य पाण्डुमहाराजो वनादिव जनप्रिय: । आगतः: प्रियमस्माकं चिकीर्षु्ात्र संशय:,इनके आनेसे नि:संदेह ऐसा जान पड़ता है, आज प्रजाजनोंके प्रिय महाराज पाण्डु ही मानो हमारा प्रिय करनेके लिये वनसे चले आये हों

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: adya pāṇḍu-mahārājo vanād iva jana-priyaḥ | āgataḥ priyam asmākaṃ cikīrṣuḥ—nātra saṃśayaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Gewiss ist heute König Pāṇḍu—vom Volk geliebt—gleichsam aus dem Wald gekommen, entschlossen, uns Gutes zu erweisen; daran besteht kein Zweifel.“

Word by Word

अद्यtoday

पाण्डु-महाराजःKing Pandu (the great king Pandu)

वनात्from the forest

इवas if

जन-प्रियःbeloved of the people

आगतःhas come / arrived

प्रियम्what is dear / a favor

अस्माकम्of us / our

चिकीर्षुःwishing to do (to perform)

अत्रhere / in this matter

संशयःdoubt

नnot

अस्तिis

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍu

vana (forest)

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 highlights the ethical ideal of a ruler who is “jana-priya” (beloved of the people) and whose arrival is interpreted as motivated by goodwill—an emphasis on benevolent intention and public trust as marks of good kingship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments that it seems as though King Pāṇḍu himself has come from the forest, intending to do something pleasing for them; the statement conveys certainty and auspicious expectation about the arrival.