Shloka 12

Devanagari script

नारदस्त्वब्रवीदेनं देहि महमिमां नूप । भार्यार्थ सुमहच्छेय: प्राप्तुं चेदिच्छसे नूप,इसी समय नारदजी राजासे बोले--“नरेश्वर! यदि तुम परम कल्याण प्राप्त करना चाहते हो तो अपनी इस कन्याको धर्मपत्नी बनानेके लिये मुझे दे दो”

Transliteration

nāradas tv abravīd enaṃ dehi mahām imāṃ nṛpa | bhāryārthaṃ sumahac chreyaḥ prāptuṃ ced icchase nṛpa ||

Translation

Nārada said to him, “O king, give me this maiden as a wife. If you desire to attain the highest good and great spiritual welfare, then grant her to me.”

Word by Word

नारदःNarada

तुbut/indeed

अब्रवीत्said/spoke

एनम्to him/this (person)

देहिgive

ममto me / of me

इमाम्this (female)

नृपO king

भार्यार्थम्for (as) a wife / for the purpose of a wife

सुमहत्very great

श्रेयःthe highest good/welfare

प्राप्तुम्to obtain

चेत्if

इच्छसेyou desire

नृपO king

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

nṛpa (the king, unnamed in this verse)

kanyā (the maiden/daughter, implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma as practical ethical commitment: a ruler’s greatness is measured by truthfulness, generosity, and detachment. Nārada frames the request as a pathway to śreyas (highest good), implying that moral excellence may require surrendering personal claims for a higher duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a king and asks him to give a maiden (the king’s daughter, per the prose context) to Nārada as a wife. The request functions as a moral trial, pressing the king to choose between attachment and a dharma-oriented act presented as leading to great welfare.