Shloka 19

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)

Devanagari script

विह्तितान्ना: प्रजास्तास्तु जग्मु: सृष्टा यथागतम्‌ | ततो ववृधिरे राजन्‌ प्रीतिमत्य: स्वयोनिषु

Transliteration

vihitānnāḥ prajāstāstu jagmuḥ sṛṣṭā yathāgatam | tato vavṛdhire rājan prītimatyaḥ svayoniṣu ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Als für jene erschaffenen Wesen Nahrung bereitgestellt war, gingen sie fort und kehrten zurück, wie sie gekommen waren. Dann, o König, begann die ganze Schar der Geschöpfe—zufrieden in ihren jeweiligen Arten und Ursprüngen—immer mehr zu gedeihen und sich zu vermehren.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vihitānnāḥ', 'definition': 'those for whom food/provisions have been duly arranged (vihita + anna)'}, {'term': 'prajāḥ', 'definition': 'creatures

• populace'}, {'term': 'jagmuḥ', 'definition': 'they went

• they departed (perfect of √gam)'}, {'term': 'sṛṣṭāḥ', 'definition': 'created

• brought forth (from √sṛj)'}, {'term': 'yathāgatam', 'definition': 'as they had come

• in the same manner as their arrival'}, {'term': 'tataḥ', 'definition': 'then

• thereafter'}, {'term': 'vavṛdhire', 'definition': 'they grew

• they prospered (perfect of √vṛdh)'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O King (vocative address)'}, {'term': 'prītimatyaḥ', 'definition': 'contented

• satisfied'}, {'term': 'svayoniṣu', 'definition': 'in their own wombs/species/origins

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• rājan (the King, i.e., Janamejaya as listener)
• prajāḥ (created beings/subjects)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a basic principle of righteous order: when beings are properly provided for (especially with food, the foundation of life), society settles into stability and naturally prospers. Welfare and sustenance are presented as prerequisites for growth and continuity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that after food was arranged for the created beings/people, they dispersed peacefully, returning as they had come. Thereafter, the populace lived contentedly within their respective kinds and increased in number.