Shloka 18

Adhyāya 6: Kaṅka (Yudhiṣṭhira) Seeks Refuge in Virāṭa’s Assembly

Devanagari script

कृतानुयात्रा भूतैस्त्वं वरदा कामचारिणि । भारावतारे ये च त्वां संस्मरिष्यन्ति मानवा:

Transliteration

kṛtānuyātrā bhūtaiś tvaṃ varadā kāmacāriṇi | bhārāvatāre ye ca tvāṃ saṃsmariṣyanti mānavāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Göttin, die du nach eigenem Willen frei umhergehst: Wesen folgen dir, und denen, die dich suchen, gewährst du Gaben. Und jene Menschen, die, um die Last der über sie gekommenen Not abzuwerfen, deiner gedenken—für sie ist auf dieser Erde nichts schwer zu erlangen: weder Söhne, noch Reichtum, noch Fülle an Korn.“

Word by Word

• कृता: having been made / done
• कृता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ धातु, क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• अनुयात्रा: following, attendance, accompanying
• अनुयात्रा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुयात्रा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• भूतैः: by beings / by creatures
• भूतैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• वरदा: giver of boons
• वरदा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वरद
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• कामचारिणि: O one who moves at will
• कामचारिणि: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कामचारिणी (काम + चारिन्)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• भारावतारे: in (the act of) removing the burden / at the burden’s descent
• भारावतारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारावतार (भार + अवतार)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• ये: who (those who)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• त्वाम्: you (as object)
• त्वाम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Singular

• संस्मरिष्यन्ति: will remember
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + स्मृ
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मानवाः: men / humans
• मानवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• a goddess (varadā, kāmacāriṇī; unnamed in this verse)
• bhūta (beings/creatures)
• mānavāḥ (humans)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes śaraṇāgati through smaraṇa: remembering and honoring a benevolent divine power in times of crisis is portrayed as a means to remove the ‘burden’ of suffering and to gain life-supporting goods (offspring, wealth, grain). Ethically, it frames devotion as a stabilizing refuge that restores hope and order amid adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a goddess characterized as freely roaming and a giver of boons. He states that beings follow her, and that humans who remember her to overcome pressing troubles will find prosperity and desired outcomes readily attainable.