Shloka 20

मागधगिरिव्रजप्रवेशः — Entry into Girivraja and Jarāsandha’s Protocol Inquiry

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य तपोवनचरो नृपः । सभार्य: स्वर्गमगमत्‌ तपस्तप्त्वा बृहद्रथ:

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: atha dīrghasya kālasya tapovanacaro nṛpaḥ | sabhāryaḥ svargam agamat tapastaptvā bṛhadrathaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Nach langer Zeit ging König Bṛhadratha (Bṛhadratha), der in einer Waldklause lebte und Askese übte, zusammen mit seinen Gemahlinnen in den Himmel ein.

Word by Word

• वैशम्पायनः: Vaiśampāyana
• वैशम्पायनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशम्पायन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• दीर्घस्य: of long (duration)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीर्घ
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• कालस्य: of time
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• तपोवनचरः: dwelling/roaming in the penance-grove (hermitage forest)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपोवनचर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नृपः: the king
• नृपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सभार्यः: together with (his) wives
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-भार्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• स्वर्गम्: to heaven
• स्वर्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वर्ग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अगमत्: went
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Imperfect, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तप्त्वा: having performed (austerity)
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• बृहद्रथः: Bṛhadratha
• बृहद्रथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बृहद्रथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Bṛhadratha
• Bṛhadratha's wives
• Tapovana
• Svarga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dharmic arc of life: after sustained discipline and withdrawal from worldly life into tapas, one attains higher realms. It presents ascetic practice and orderly renunciation as ethically valued, even for kings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that King Bṛhadratha lived for a long time in a forest of austerities, performed tapas, and then departed to heaven along with his wives.