Shloka 8

Arjuna Honored in Indra’s Court; Lomāśa’s Audience; Indra’s Disclosure of Lineage and Mission

Book 3, Chapter 45

Devanagari script

वर्चस्वी तेजसा युक्त: क्षमावान्‌ वीतमत्सर: । साड्रोपनिषदान वेदांश्ष॒तुराख्यानपञ्चमान्‌

Transliteration

varcasvī tejasā yuktaḥ kṣamāvān vītamatsaraḥ | sa-āḍhropaniṣadān vedān caturākhyānapañcamān ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Er war mit Glanz und Kraft begabt, geduldig und nachsichtig, frei von Neid. Er hatte die Veden samt ihren Hilfslehren und den Upaniṣaden gemeistert und kannte die überlieferten Erzählungen als fünften Zweig.“

Word by Word

वर्चस्वीpossessing splendor

तेजसाby/with brilliance

युक्तःendowed (with)

क्षमावान्forbearing, patient

वीतमत्सरःfree from envy

सhe

आड्यःwealthy, eminent

उपनिषदान्Upaniṣads

वेदान्Vedas

चतुराख्यानपञ्चमान्having the Itihāsa-Purāṇa as the fifth (i.e., with the four narratives/branches and the fifth as Itihāsa)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vedas

Upaniṣads

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True excellence is not merely scholarship but scholarship grounded in character: radiance and strength (tejas) must be paired with patience/forgiveness (kṣamā) and freedom from envy (amātsarya). The verse presents an ethical ideal where learning culminates in humility and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing a person’s qualities, emphasizing both inner virtues (radiance, patience, non-envy) and comprehensive learning (knowledge of the Vedas together with Upaniṣadic and narrative traditions). The description functions as a character portrait establishing authority and moral stature.