Shloka 19

माधवी-प्रदानम् (Mādhavī Offered to Gālava) — Udyoga Parva 113

Devanagari script

यावन्ति रोमाणि हये भवन्तीह नरेश्वर । तावन्तो वाजिनो लोकान प्राप्तुवन्ति महीपते,“नरेश्वर! भूपाल! यहाँ (दान किये हुए) घोड़ेके शरीरमें जितने रोएँ होते हैं, दान करनेवाले लोगोंको (परलोकमें) उतने ही घोड़े प्राप्त होते हैं

Transliteration

yāvanti romāṇi haye bhavantīha nareśvara | tāvanto vājino lokān prāptuvanti mahīpate ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: „O Herr der Menschen, o König! So viele Pferde erlangt der Spender in den jenseitigen Welten, wie Haare das hier verschenkte Pferd an seinem Leib trägt. Darum wird die Gabe eines Pferdes gepriesen als reich an Lohn, die Großmut und Vertrauen in das dharmische Geben stärkt.“

Word by Word

यावन्तिas many as

रोमाणिhairs

हयेin the horse

भवन्तिare / exist

इहhere

नरेश्वरO lord of men (king)

तावन्तःso many / that many

वाजिनःhorses

लोकान्worlds (realms)

प्राप्तुवन्तिobtain / attain

महीपतेO lord of the earth (king)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

king (addressed as nareśvara/mahīpati)

horse (haya/vājina)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches the dharmic principle that generous giving (dāna), here specifically the gift of a horse, yields proportionate and abundant merit, described through a vivid measure: as many hairs on the donated horse, so many horses are gained in the afterlife.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a king and extols the fruit of horse-gifting, using a phalaśruti-style statement to motivate righteous generosity and to frame dāna as a kingly virtue with lasting otherworldly results.