Shloka 2

Devanagari script

निविशन्त्यां पुरा पार्थ द्वारवत्यामिति श्रुति: । अदृश्यत महाकूपस्तृणवीरुत्समावृत:,पार्थ! हमारे सुननेमें आया है कि पूर्वकालमें जब द्वारकापुरी बस रही थी, उसी समय वहाँ घास और लताओंसे ढँका हुआ एक विशाल कूप दिखायी दिया

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | niviśantyāṃ purā pārtha dvāravatyām iti śrutiḥ | adṛśyata mahākūpas tṛṇavīrutsamāvṛtaḥ |

Translation

Bhishma said: “O Partha, we have heard this tradition: long ago, when the city of Dvāravatī was first being settled, there appeared there a great well, hidden over by grasses and creeping plants.”

Word by Word

निविशन्त्याम्while (it/ she) was being settled/inhabited

पुराformerly, in olden times

पार्थO Partha

द्वारवत्याम्in Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)

इतिthus (quotative)

श्रुतिःreport, what is heard (tradition)

अदृश्यतwas seen, appeared

महाकूपःa great well/pit

तृणवीरुत्समावृतःcovered over with grass and creepers

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Dvāravatī (Dvārakā)

mahākūpa (great well)

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 frames the account as received tradition (śruti), reminding the listener that moral and dharmic instruction in the Mahābhārata is often conveyed through remembered reports and exemplary narratives; it also hints that what is hidden (like an overgrown well) may carry significance when revealed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses Arjuna and introduces a traditional report about the early settling of Dvāravatī: during that time, a large well, concealed by grasses and creepers, was noticed—setting up a story connected with that discovery.