Shloka 12

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच क्षणं कुरु महाराज विपुलोडयमनुक्रम: । पुण्याख्यानस्य वक्तव्य: कृष्णद्वैपायनेरित:,वैशम्पायनजी बोले--महाराज! इसके लिये कुछ समय नियत कीजिये; क्योंकि इस पवित्र आख्यानका श्रीव्यासजीके द्वारा जो क्रमानुसार वर्णन किया गया है, वह बहुत विस्तृत है और वह सब आपके समक्ष कहकर सुनाना है

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca kṣaṇaṃ kuru mahārāja vipulo 'yam anukramaḥ | puṇyākhyānasya vaktavyaḥ kṛṣṇadvaipāyaneritaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O großer König, nimm dir ein wenig Zeit; denn diese geordnete Erzählung ist weit und umfangreich. Ich muss dir diesen heiligen Bericht vortragen, so wie er von Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa) in Gang gesetzt und geordnet wurde.“

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'kṣaṇam': 'a moment

• a short time', 'kuru': 'do

• set aside (imperative)', 'mahārāja': 'great king (vocative)', 'vipulaḥ': 'extensive

• abundant', 'ayam': 'this', 'anukramaḥ': 'sequence

• systematic narration', 'puṇya-ākhyānam': 'sacred narrative

• meritorious tale', 'vaktavyaḥ': 'to be spoken

• must be told (obligatory)', 'kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana': 'Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana, i.e., Vyāsa', 'īritaḥ': 'set in motion

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mahārāja (the king listener, i.e., Janamejaya)
• Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa)
• Puṇyākhyāna (the sacred narrative, i.e., the Mahābhārata)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes reverent patience and preparedness in receiving sacred knowledge: a holy tradition is vast and must be heard with time, attention, and respect, especially when it comes with the authority of Vyāsa’s ordered composition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and requests time to narrate the extensive, systematically arranged sacred history, indicating that he will recount the Mahābhārata as initiated and structured by Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa).