Mahabharata 9.53.16 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 53, Shloka 16

Plakṣaprasravaṇa–Kārapacana tīrtha-varṇana and Nārada’s war briefing (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 53)

Devanagari script

एवमेतद्‌ यदुश्रेष्ठ कृष्टं राजर्षिणा पुरा । शक्रेण चाभ्यनुज्ञातं ब्रह्माद्यैश्व सुरैस्तथा

Transliteration

evam etad yaduśreṣṭha kṛṣṭaṃ rājarṣiṇā purā | śakreṇa cābhyanujñātaṃ brahmādyaiś ca surais tathā ||

Translation

„So ist es, o Bester der Yadus. In alter Zeit wurde dieses Land vom königlichen Weisen Kuru gepflügt und unter Kultur gebracht; und es wurde von Śakra (Indra) bestätigt und gesegnet, ebenso von Brahmā und den übrigen Göttern. So gründet seine Heiligkeit auf gerechtem menschlichem Wirken, das durch göttliche Billigung bekräftigt ist.“

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एतत्: this (thing)
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• यदुश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Yadus
• Type: Noun
• Root: यदु-श्रेष्ठ
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• कृष्टम्: ploughed, tilled
• Type: Participle
• Root: कृष्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular, passive, past (PPP)

• राजर्षिणा: by the royal sage
• राजर्षिणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजर्षि
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• पुरा: formerly, long ago
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• शक्रेण: by Śakra (Indra)
• शक्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्र
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अभ्यनुज्ञातम्: approved, sanctioned, permitted
• Type: Participle
• Root: अनु-ज्ञा (अभि-अनु-ज्ञा)
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular, passive, past (PPP)

• ब्रह्माद्यैः: by Brahmā and others
• ब्रह्माद्यैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्म-आदि
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सुरैः: by the gods
• सुरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुर
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• तथा: so, likewise, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Rāma (speaker)
• Yaduśreṣṭha (addressee, best of the Yadus)
• Rājarṣi Kuru
• Śakra (Indra)
• Brahmā
• Suras (the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse links sanctity to righteous action: Kuru’s disciplined, constructive labor (cultivating the land) becomes spiritually authoritative when aligned with dharma and affirmed by higher moral/divine order (Indra, Brahmā, and the gods).

What is happening in the narrative?

Rāma addresses a Yadu hero and explains the ancient origin of the region’s holiness: the royal sage Kuru once cultivated it, and the chief gods granted approval and blessing, establishing the place as divinely endorsed.