Shloka 22

Devanagari script

मन्दपाल उवाच ज्येष्ठ: सुतस्ते कतम: कतमस्तस्य चानुज: । मध्यम: कतमश्नचैव कनीयान्‌ कतमश्च ते,मन्दपालने पूछा-्रिये! तुम्हारा ज्येष्ठ पुत्र कौन है, उससे छोटा कौन है, मझला कौन है और सबसे छोटा कौन है?

Transliteration

Mandapāla uvāca | jyeṣṭhaḥ sutaste katamaḥ katamastasya cānujāḥ | madhyamaḥ katamaś caiva kanīyān katamaś ca te ||

Translation

Mandapāla said: “Which of your sons is the eldest? Who is the one younger than him? Which is the middle one, and which is your youngest?”

Word by Word

मन्दपालःMandapāla

उवाचsaid

ज्येष्ठःeldest

सुतःson

तेof you/your

कतमःwhich one (of many)?

कतमःwhich one?

तस्यof him/of that

चand

अनुजःyounger brother

मध्यमःmiddle

कतमःwhich one?

चand

एवindeed/just

कनीयान्youngest/younger

कतमःwhich one?

चand

तेof you/your

Speaker

मन्दपाल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mandapāla

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the ethical importance of recognizing familial order and roles—knowing who is eldest, middle, and youngest supports proper conduct (dharma) within the household and lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mandapāla addresses a mother and asks her to identify her sons by age order—eldest, next younger, middle, and youngest—setting up clarity about the children’s identities and relationships.