Shloka 13

Devanagari script

स निर्जित्य महीं कृत्स्नां सशैलवनकाननाम्‌ | आज हार महाराज राजसूयं महाक्रतुम्‌,महाराज! पर्वतों और वनोंसहित इस सारी पृथ्वीको जीतकर राजा हरिश्वन्द्रने राजसूय नामक महान्‌ यज्ञका अनुष्ठान किया

Transliteration

sa nirjitya mahīṁ kṛtsnāṁ saśailavanakānanām | ājahāra mahārāja rājasūyaṁ mahākratum ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: O großer König, nachdem er die ganze Erde—mitsamt Bergen, Wäldern und Wildnissen—besiegt hatte, vollzog König Hariścandra das große königliche Opfer, das Rājasūya genannt wird.

Word by Word

सःhe (that king)

निर्जित्यhaving conquered

महीम्the earth

कृत्स्नाम्entire, whole

स-शैल-वन-काननाम्together with mountains, forests, and groves

आजहारperformed; carried out

महाराजःthe great king

राजसूयम्the Rājasūya (royal consecration sacrifice)

महाक्रतुम्the great sacrifice

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Hariścandra

Mahārāja (addressed king)

Earth (Mahī)

Rājasūya (royal sacrifice)

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 links sovereignty to dharma through yajña: a king’s authority is portrayed as validated not only by conquest but by undertaking a major public rite (Rājasūya) that symbolizes responsibility, order, and legitimate rule.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada recounts that King Hariścandra, after subduing the whole earth with its natural domains, conducted the great royal sacrifice called the Rājasūya, highlighting his imperial status and ritual consecration.