Shloka 12

Devanagari script

असंस्कृताया: कन्याया: कुतो लोकास्तवानघे । एवं तु श्रुतमस्माभिदेंवलोके महाव्रते

Transliteration

asaṁskṛtāyāḥ kanyāyāḥ kuto lokās tavānaghe | evaṁ tu śrutam asmābhir devaloke mahāvrate ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O sinless one, how could heavenly worlds be attained by an uninitiated maiden, one who has not undergone the saṃskāras? Yet this is what we have heard in the world of the gods, O you of great vows.”

Word by Word

असंस्कृतायाःof an unrefined/uncultured (girl)

कन्यायाःof a maiden/girl

कुतःwhence? how? from where?

लोकाःworlds (heavenly realms)

तवof you/for you

अनघेO blameless one

एवम्thus, in this manner

तुbut, however

श्रुतम्heard (has been heard)

अस्माभिःby us

देव-लोकेin the world of the gods (heaven)

महाव्रतेO great-vowed one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

devaloka (world of the gods)

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 raises a dharmic question about the relationship between ritual qualification (saṁskāra) and spiritual reward (attaining higher worlds), while also acknowledging that authoritative tradition reports exceptional outcomes beyond ordinary expectation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses a listener respectfully (“blameless,” “great-vowed”) and expresses surprise: an uninitiated maiden attaining heavenly realms seems unlikely, yet he affirms that such an account is known from devaloka tradition.