Shloka 2

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

Devanagari script

यशोदागर्भसम्भूतां नारायणवरप्रियाम्‌ । नन्दगोपकुले जातां मड़ल्यां कुलवर्धिनीम्‌

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Yaśodāgarbhasambhūtāṃ Nārāyaṇavarapriyām | Nandagopakule jātāṃ maṅgalyāṃ kulavardhinīm ||

Translation

„Ich sinne über jene glückverheißende Göttin nach—die aus Yaśodās Schoß hervorging, dem erhabenen Nārāyaṇa überaus lieb; die im Hirtenklan Nandas erschien; die Wohlergehen spendet und den Glanz des Geschlechts mehrt.“

Word by Word

• यशोदा-गर्भ-सम्भूताम्: born from Yaśodā's womb
• यशोदा-गर्भ-सम्भूताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यशोदा + गर्भ + सम्भूत (सम्√भू)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नारायण-वर-प्रियाम्: dear to the excellent Nārāyaṇa
• नारायण-वर-प्रियाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नारायण + वर + प्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नन्द-गोप-कुले: in the clan of Nanda the cowherd
• नन्द-गोप-कुले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्द + गोप + कुल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• जाताम्: born
• जाताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जात (√जन्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• मङ्गल्याम्: auspicious; bringer of welfare
• मङ्गल्याम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मङ्गल्या
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कुल-वर्धिनीम्: increaser of the lineage
• कुल-वर्धिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुल + वर्धिनी (√वृध्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yaśodā
• Nārāyaṇa
• Nanda
• Gopa-kula (cowherd clan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames remembrance of the divine feminine as a source of maṅgala (auspicious welfare) and kula-vṛddhi (social and familial flourishing), implying that devotion and ethical life are strengthened by aligning oneself with protective, dharma-supporting divinity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana introduces a devotional contemplation (a praise/meditation) of a goddess identified by her birth in Yaśodā’s context and her close association with Nārāyaṇa and Nanda’s cowherd clan, setting a sacred tone before the ensuing events of the Virāṭa narrative.