Shloka 24

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

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

Devanagari script

सम्प्रत्याचक्षते चेदं तथा श्रोष्यन्ति चापरे । पुत्रा: शुश्रूषव: सन्ति प्रेष्याश्व॒ प्रियकारिण:,जो वर्तमानकालमें इसका पाठ करते हैं तथा जो भविष्यमें इसे सुनेंगे, उनके पुत्र सेवापरायण और सेवक स्वामीका प्रिय करनेवाले होंगे

Transliteration

sampraty ācakṣate cedaṃ tathā śroṣyanti cāpare | putrāḥ śuśrūṣavaḥ santi preṣyāś ca priyakāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Diejenigen, die dies jetzt vortragen, und jene anderen, die es in kommenden Zeiten hören werden—unter ihnen wird es Söhne geben, die sich dem aufmerksamen Dienst hingeben, und Diener, die handeln, um ihren Herren zu gefallen.

Word by Word

सम्प्रतिnow, at present

आचक्षतेthey relate/tell

चand

इदम्this (narrative/teaching)

तथाlikewise, in the same way

श्रोष्यन्तिthey will hear

चand

अपरेothers (people)

पुत्राःsons

शुश्रूषवःeager to serve, service-minded

सन्तिare

प्रेष्याःservants, attendants

प्रियकारिणःdoing what is pleasing (to the master)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that faithful recitation and attentive listening to the Mahābhārata are not merely intellectual acts but dharmic practices that bear ethical fruit—cultivating service-minded, obedient children and loyal attendants who act for the good and satisfaction of those they serve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, continuing his discourse, states a phalaśruti: he describes the auspicious results for those who recite the text in the present and for those who will hear it in the future, emphasizing the enduring merit of transmitting and receiving the epic.