Shloka 39

Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)

Devanagari script

कीर्ति प्रथणता लोके पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम्‌ | अन्‍्येषां क्षत्रियाणां च भूरिद्रविणतेजसाम्‌,सर्वज्ञ, विधिविधानके ज्ञाता, धर्मज्ञ, साधु, इन्द्रियातीत ज्ञानसे सम्पन्न, शुद्ध, तपके प्रभावसे पवित्र अन्तःकरणवाले, ऐश्वर्यसम्पन्न, सांख्य एवं योगके विद्वान्‌ तथा अनेक शास्त्रोंके पारदर्शी मुनिवर व्यासजीने दिव्य दृष्टिसे देखकर महात्मा पाण्डवों तथा अन्य प्रचुर धनसम्पन्न महातेजस्वी राजाओंकी कीर्तिका प्रसार करनेके लिये इस इतिहासकी रचना की है

Transliteration

kīrti-prathanatā loke pāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām | anyeṣāṃ kṣatriyāṇāṃ ca bhūri-draviṇa-tejasām | sarvajñaḥ vidhi-vidhānake jñātā dharmajñaḥ sādhuḥ indriyātīta-jñāna-sampannaḥ śuddhaḥ tapaḥ-prabhāvena pavitrāntaḥkaraṇavān aiśvarya-sampannaḥ sāṅkhya-yoga-vidvān tathā aneka-śāstra-pāradarśī munivaraḥ vyāsaḥ divya-dṛṣṭyā dṛṣṭvā mahātmā-pāṇḍavān anyāṃś ca pracura-dhana-sampannān mahātejasvinaḥ rājñaḥ kīrti-prasāraṇāya asya itihāsasya racanāṃ cakāra

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Damit sich der Ruhm der großherzigen Pāṇḍavas — und der anderer Kṣatriya-Könige, reich an Gütern und strahlend an Kraft — in der Welt verbreite, schaute der Weise Vyāsa, allwissend, kundig in den Satzungen des heiligen Gesetzes und im rechten Verfahren, Kenner des Dharma und wahrer Heiliger, begabt mit Wissen jenseits der Sinne, rein, im Innersten durch die Macht der Askese geläutert, von geistlicher Hoheit erfüllt, bewandert in Sāṅkhya und Yoga und tief vertraut mit vielen Śāstras, alles mit göttlichem Blick und verfasste diese Geschichte.“

Word by Word

कीर्तिःfame, renown

प्रथणताspreading, expansion

लोकेin the world

पाण्डवानाम्of the Pāṇḍavas

महात्मनाम्of the great-souled

अन्येषाम्of others

क्षत्रियाणाम्of kṣatriyas, warriors

चand

भूरि-द्रविण-तेजसाम्of those having abundant wealth and splendor

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Vyāsa

Pāṇḍavas

kṣatriya kings (other rulers)

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 frames the Mahābhārata as an itihāsa composed to preserve and spread exemplary fame rooted in dharma: noble conduct, rightful kingship, and the ethical weight of actions are made memorable through narrative, guided by Vyāsa’s purified insight and śāstric mastery.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana explains why the epic was composed: Vyāsa, endowed with divine sight and spiritual authority, created this history so that the renown of the Pāṇḍavas and other powerful kings would be known widely in the world.