Shloka 9

Devanagari script

अतीव प्रेक्षणीयो 5 भून्मेरु्मुनिगणैरिव । मत्तानां हृष्टरूपाणां स्त्रीणां पुंसां च भारत

Transliteration

atīva prekṣaṇīyo bhūn merur munigaṇair iva | mattānāṁ hṛṣṭarūpāṇāṁ strīṇāṁ puṁsāṁ ca bhārata ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: O Bhārata, it became exceedingly delightful to behold—like Mount Meru surrounded by hosts of sages—amid men and women who, intoxicated with joy, wore radiant, exultant expressions.

Word by Word

अतीवexceedingly, very

प्रेक्षणीयःworth seeing, very sightly

भूत्became, was

मेरुःMount Meru

मुनिगणैःby groups of sages

इवlike, as if

मत्तानाम्of the intoxicated / excited

हृष्टरूपाणाम्of those with delighted appearance

स्त्रीणाम्of women

पुंसाम्of men

चand

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (Janamejaya)

Mount Meru

munigaṇa (hosts of sages)

women

men

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

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 highlights how collective joy and auspicious order make a scene ‘worthy to behold’; ethical life and rightful ritual observance are portrayed as producing harmony and visible well-being in society.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a splendid, festive scene in the Ashvamedhika context: people—men and women—are exhilarated and radiant, and the gathering is compared to Mount Meru encircled by sages, emphasizing grandeur and auspiciousness.