Shloka 6

मयस्य प्रतिकृतिः — Maya’s Offer and the Commissioning of the Sabhā

Devanagari script

अहं हि विश्वकर्मा वै दानवानां महाकवि: । सोऊ हं वै त्वत्कृते कर्तु किंचिदिच्छामि पाण्डव,पाण्डुनन्दन! मैं दानवोंका विश्वकर्मा एवं शिल्प-विद्याका महान्‌ पण्डित हूँ। अतः मैं आपके लिये किसी वस्तुका निर्माण करना चाहता हूँ

Transliteration

ahaṃ hi viśvakarmā vai dānavānāṃ mahākaviḥ | so 'haṃ vai tvatkṛte kartuṃ kiñcid icchāmi pāṇḍava, pāṇḍunandana ||

Translation

Maya said: “I am indeed the Viśvakarman among the Dānavas, a master-craftsman of great genius. Therefore, for your sake, O Pāṇḍava—O son of Pāṇḍu—I wish to fashion something.”

Word by Word

{'ahaṃ''I', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'viśvakarmā': 'Viśvakarman

here ‘chief architect’ among the Dānavas', 'vai''certainly, indeed (emphatic particle)', 'dānavānām': 'of the Dānavas (a class of Asuras/Daityas)', 'mahākaviḥ': 'great poet/genius

by extension, a highly accomplished master (herein craft/architecture)', "saḥ aham (so 'ham)": 'that (one) I

‘I, being such’', 'tvatkṛte''for your sake, on your account', 'kartum': 'to do, to make, to construct', 'kiñcit': 'something, some (work/object)', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'pāṇḍava': 'O descendant of Pāṇḍu (address to Yudhiṣṭhira/one of the Pāṇḍavas)', 'pāṇḍunandana': 'O son of Pāṇḍu'}

Speaker

मय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Maya (Mayāsura)

Pāṇḍava (addressed person, traditionally Yudhiṣṭhira)

Pāṇḍu

Dānavas

Viśvakarman (as a title/comparison)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights reciprocity and gratitude as ethical duties: one who has been helped seeks to repay through their own excellence. It also frames skilled labor and artistry as a legitimate, dharmic offering when directed toward a worthy purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maya identifies himself as the foremost architect among the Dānavas and addresses a Pāṇḍava (commonly understood as Yudhiṣṭhira), expressing his wish to construct something for him—setting the stage for the building of the famed assembly hall (sabhā).