Shloka 3

Āstīka’s Commission and Approach to Janamejaya’s Sarpa-satra (आस्तीक-प्रेषणं यज्ञप्रवेशोपक्रमश्च)

Devanagari script

जनमेजय उवाच जानन्ति सम भवन्तस्तदू यथा वृत्तं पितुर्मम । आसीदू यथा स निधन गत: काले महायशा:,जनमेजयने पूछा--आपलोग यह जानते होंगे कि मेरे पिताके जीवनकालमें उनका आचार-व्यवहार कैसा था? और अन्तकाल आनेपर वे महायशस्वी नरेश किस प्रकार मृत्युको प्राप्त हुए थे?

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca | jānanti sma bhavantas tad ū yathā vṛttaṃ pitur mama | āsīd ū yathā sa nidhanaṃ gataḥ kāle mahāyaśāḥ ||

Translation

Janamejaya sprach: „Gewiss wisst ihr, wie der Wandel und der Lebensgang meines Vaters in Wahrheit beschaffen waren. Sagt mir auch, auf welche Weise jener hochberühmte König sein Ende fand, als seine letzte Zeit herangekommen war.“

Word by Word

जनमेजयःJanamejaya

उवाचsaid

जानन्तिknow

सम्well, fully

भवन्तःyou (honorific), sirs

तत्that (matter)

यथाhow, as

वृत्तम्conduct, course of life, what happened

पितुःof (my) father

ममmy

आसीत्was

यथाhow, in what way

सःhe

निधनम्death, end

गतःgone to, reached

कालेat the time (of death)

महायशाःgreatly renowned, of great fame

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Janamejaya's father (Parīkṣit)

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 foregrounds ethical inquiry: a ruler’s fame is tied to his conduct (vṛtta), and understanding a king’s end is part of reflecting on dharma, responsibility, and the inevitability of death.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya addresses the sages and asks them to recount his father’s life—how he behaved and what happened—especially the circumstances by which the renowned king met death when his destined time arrived.