Shloka 41

मान्धातृ-जन्म-चरितम्

The Birth and Career Account of Māndhātṛ

Devanagari script

तेन पद्मसहसत्राणि गवां दश महात्मना । ब्राह्मणानां महाराज दत्तानीति प्रचक्षते,महाराज! महात्मा राजा मान्धाताने दस हजार पद्म गौएँ ब्राह्मणोंको दानमें दी थीं, ऐसा जानकार-लोग कहते हैं

Transliteration

tena padmasahasrāṇi gavāṃ daśa mahātmanā | brāhmaṇānāṃ mahārāja dattānīti pracakṣate ||

Translation

Lomaśa sprach: „Darum, o großer König, wird berichtet, dass jener Edle den Brahmanen Kühe im Werte von zehntausend Padmas schenkte. So erzählen die Gelehrten von der berühmten Freigebigkeit König Māndhātṛs.“

Word by Word

तेनby him / by that (person)

पद्मसहस्राणिthousands of padmas (a large number)

गवाम्of cows

दशten

महात्मनाby the great-souled (one)

ब्राह्मणानाम्to/for the Brahmins (of the Brahmins)

महाराजO great king

दत्तानिgiven (donated)

इतिthus / as (quotation marker)

प्रचक्षतेthey declare / they say

Speaker

लोमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Lomaśa

Mahārāja (the king being addressed)

Brāhmaṇas

King Māndhātṛ

cows (go)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse upholds dāna-dharma: a righteous king gains lasting fame and merit by generous, properly directed gifts—here, the paradigmatic donation of cows to Brāhmaṇas, presented as an authoritative tradition (“it is said”).

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomaśa, addressing a king, cites a well-known report about King Māndhātṛ’s extraordinary generosity—stating that he gave an immense number of cows (expressed through the large-number term ‘padma’) to Brāhmaṇas—using the example to illustrate royal virtue and the power of charitable giving.