Shloka 20

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

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

Devanagari script

मुच्यते सर्वपापेभ्यो राहुणा चन्द्रमा यथा । जयो नामेतिहासो<यं श्रोतव्यो विजिगीषुणा,साथ ही वह भ्रूणहत्या-जैसे पापको भी नष्ट कर देता है, इसमें संशय नहीं है। इस इतिहासको श्रवण करके अत्यन्त क्रूर मनुष्य भी राहुसे छूटे हुए चन्द्रमाकी भाँति सब पापोंसे मुक्त हो जाता है। यह “जय” नामक इतिहास विजयकी इच्छावाले पुरुषको अवश्य सुनना चाहिये

Transliteration

mucyate sarvapāpebhyo rāhuṇā candramā yathā | jayo nāmetihāso 'yaṃ śrotavyo vijigīṣuṇā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Wie der Mond aus Rāhus Griff entlassen wird, so wird man von allen Sünden befreit. Diese Erzählung namens ‚Jaya‘ soll gewiss von dem gehört werden, der den Sieg erstrebt; durch das Hören dieses Itihāsa wird selbst ein sehr grausamer Mensch gereinigt und von Sünde erlöst.“

Word by Word

मुच्यतेis released / is freed

सर्वपापेभ्यःfrom all sins

राहुणाby Rahu

चन्द्रमाthe moon

यथाas / just as

जयःJaya (name) / victory

नामby name / named

इतिहासःhistory / narrative

अयम्this

श्रोतव्यःto be heard / should be listened to

विजिगीषुणाby one desiring to conquer

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Rāhu

Candra (the Moon)

Jaya (itihāsa)

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?

The verse teaches the purificatory power of listening to the epic: hearing the ‘Jaya’ itihāsa is presented as a means of moral cleansing, freeing a listener from accumulated sin, just as the Moon is freed from Rāhu.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is praising the efficacy and value of the Mahābhārata tradition (here called ‘Jaya’), urging that it be heard—especially by one seeking victory—using the well-known image of the Moon’s release from Rāhu to describe liberation from sin.