Shloka 35

मयेन सभानिर्माणम्

Maya’s Construction of the Assembly Hall

Devanagari script

काननानि सुगन्धीनि पुष्करिण्यश्व सर्वश: । हंसकारण्डवोपेताशक्षक्रवाकोपशोभिता:,केवल वृक्ष ही नहीं; उस भवनके चारों ओर अनेक सुगन्धित वन, उपवन और बावलियाँ भी थीं, जो हंस, कारण्डव तथा चक्रवाक आदि पक्षियोंसे युक्त होनेके कारण बड़ी शोभा पा रही थीं

Transliteration

kānanāni sugandhīni puṣkariṇyaś ca sarvaśaḥ | haṃsa-kāraṇḍavopetāś cakravākopaśobhitāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Ringsum lagen duftende Haine und Wälder sowie Lotos-Teiche in alle Richtungen—geschmückt von Schwänen, kāraṇḍava-Enten und verschönt durch cakravāka-Vögel. Das Bild steigert den Eindruck königlicher Fülle und gepflegter Ordnung: Die Natur selbst scheint mit menschlicher Gestaltung in Einklang gebracht und spiegelt das Ideal eines wohlregierten Reiches, in dem Schönheit, Überfluss und Frieden sichtbar werden.

Word by Word

काननानिforests

सुगन्धीनिfragrant

पुष्करिण्यःlotus-ponds

चand

सर्वशःeverywhere / in all ways

हंसकारण्डवोपेताःendowed with swans and karandavas (ducks)

चक्रवाकोपशोभिताःadorned by chakravaka birds

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

kānana (groves/forests)

puṣkariṇī (lotus-ponds)

haṃsa (swans)

kāraṇḍava (ducks)

cakravāka (water-birds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse implicitly links good rule and cultivated dharma with visible harmony: prosperity is shown not only by wealth but by orderly, life-sustaining surroundings—fragrant groves and thriving waters—suggesting a realm where beings can flourish without fear.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues a descriptive passage, portraying the environs around a magnificent royal complex: fragrant woods and lotus-ponds filled with water-birds, emphasizing the grandeur and auspiciousness of the setting.