Shloka 1

The Greatness of Hari’s Janmāṣṭamī (Jayantī) Vow

Devanagari script

शौनक उवाच । कृष्णजन्माष्टमी सूत तस्या माहात्म्यमुत्तमम् । कथयस्व महाप्राज्ञ चोद्धरस्व महार्णवात्

Transliteration

śaunaka uvāca | kṛṣṇajanmāṣṭamī sūta tasyā māhātmyamuttamam | kathayasva mahāprājña coddharasva mahārṇavāt

Translation

Śaunaka sprach: „O Sūta, verkünde mir die höchste Herrlichkeit von Kṛṣṇas Janmāṣṭamī. O überaus Weiser, erzähle sie und führe mich über den weiten Ozean (des Zweifels und des weltlichen Daseins).“

Word by Word

• शौनकः: Shaunaka
• शौनकः: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शौनक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उवाच: said
• उवाच: Kriyā (क्रिया/Verb-predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (Perfect/परोक्षभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• कृष्णजन्माष्टमी: Krishna-janmāṣṭamī (the eighth day of Krishna's birth)
• कृष्णजन्माष्टमी: Karma (कर्म/Object) (topic of discourse)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्ण (प्रातिपदिक) + जन्म (प्रातिपदिक) + अष्टमी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (कृष्णस्य जन्मनः अष्टमी) (festival name)

• सूत: O Sūta
• सूत: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), संबोधन विभक्ति (vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• तस्याः: of it/of that (festival)
• तस्याः: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (f.), षष्ठी विभक्ति (genitive/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• माहात्म्यम्: greatness; sacred glory
• माहात्म्यम्: Karma (कर्म/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माहात्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• उत्तमम्: supreme/excellent
• उत्तमम्: Karma (कर्म) (as qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (n.), द्वितीया विभक्ति, एकवचन; विशेषण (माहात्म्यम्)

• कथयस्व: tell/relate
• कथयस्व: Kriyā (क्रिया/Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय् (धातु; णिजन्त from √कथ्)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative/आज्ञार्थ), मध्यमपुरुष (2nd person), एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महाप्राज्ञ: O greatly wise one
• महाप्राज्ञ: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + प्राज्ञ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), संबोधन विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् प्राज्ञः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, समुच्चय (conjunction)

• उद्धरस्व: lift (me) out; rescue
• उद्धरस्व: Kriyā (क्रिया/Command)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√हृ (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (Imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• महार्णवात्: from the great ocean
• महार्णवात्: Apādāna (अपादान/Source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (m.), पञ्चमी विभक्ति (ablative/अपादान), एकवचन; कर्मधारय (महान् अर्णवः)

Speaker

Śaunaka (addressing Sūta)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: forest

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: माहात्म्यमुत्तमम् = माहात्म्यम् + उत्तमम्; चोद्धरस्व = च + उद्धरस्व

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Sūta
• Kṛṣṇa
• Janmāṣṭamī

FAQs

What is being requested in this verse?

Śaunaka asks Sūta to narrate the highest sacred significance (māhātmya) of Kṛṣṇa’s Janmāṣṭamī and to guide him across the “great ocean,” i.e., ignorance, doubt, or saṃsāra.

What does “lift me from the great ocean” imply in Purāṇic style?

It is a conventional spiritual metaphor: the teacher’s narration of dharma and devotion is portrayed as a means to cross the ocean of worldly bondage, confusion, and suffering.

How does this verse set the theological tone of the chapter?

By foregrounding Janmāṣṭamī-māhātmya, it frames the chapter as a Vaiṣṇava devotional teaching focused on Kṛṣṇa’s birth observance (vrata/festival) and its salvific merit.