Shloka 2

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Procession, Encampment (Niveśa), and Auspicious Timing for Ritual Action

Devanagari script

रत्नं च यन्मरुत्तेन निहितं वसुधातले । तदवाप कथं चेति तनमे ब्रूहि द्विजोत्तम

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca |

ratnaṁ ca yan Maruttena nihitaṁ vasudhā-tale |

tad avāpa kathaṁ ceti tan me brūhi dvijottama ||

Translation

Janamejaya said: “O best of twice-born sages, tell me this: the treasure that King Marutta had deposited upon the surface of the earth—how was it obtained? And after hearing the great Vyāsa’s words, what did King Yudhiṣṭhira do next in connection with the Aśvamedha sacrifice?”

Word by Word

• {'ratnam': 'treasure, jewel, valuable wealth', 'yat': 'which, that which', 'Maruttena': 'by Marutta (instrumental singular)', 'nihitam': 'placed, deposited, stored', 'vasudhā-tale': 'on the surface of the earth (lit. ‘on the ground of the earth’)', 'tat': 'that', 'avāpa': 'obtained, acquired, came to possess', 'katham': 'how?', 'ca': 'and', 'iti': 'thus (quotative particle)', 'tat me brūhi': 'tell that to me', 'dvijottama': 'O best of the twice-born (address to a Brahmin sage)'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Marutta
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Vyāsa
• ratna (treasure)
• vasudhā (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a king seeks clarity from a qualified sage about the rightful acquisition and use of wealth in the context of a major royal rite (Aśvamedha), implying that power and prosperity should be guided by authoritative counsel and ethical purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya asks the narrator-sage to explain two linked points: what Yudhiṣṭhira did regarding the Aśvamedha after hearing Vyāsa, and how the treasure once deposited by King Marutta on the earth was later obtained.