Shloka 12

Adhyāya 348: Nāga–Nīgabhāryā Saṃvāda on Anger, Hope, and Ethical Response

Devanagari script

कृष्णद्वैपायनं व्यासं विद्धि नारायणं भुवि । को हान्य: पुरुषव्याप्र महाभारतकृद्‌ भवेत्‌,पुरुषसिंह! तुम कृष्णद्वैपायन व्यासको इस भूतलपर नारायणका ही स्वरूप समझो। भला, भगवानके सिवा दूसरा कौन महाभारतका कर्ता हो सकता है?

Transliteration

kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaṃ vyāsaṃ viddhi nārāyaṇaṃ bhuvi | ko hy anyaḥ puruṣavyāghra mahābhārata-kṛd bhavet, puruṣasiṃha |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Know Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa to be Nārāyaṇa Himself upon this earth. For who else, O tiger among men, O lion among men, could be the maker of the Mahābhārata except the Lord?”

Word by Word

कृष्णद्वैपायनम्Krishna-Dvaipayana (name of Vyasa)

व्यासम्Vyasa

विद्धिknow (you should know)

नारायणम्Narayana

भुविon earth

कःwho?

अन्यःother

पुरुषव्याघ्रO tiger among men

महाभारतकृत्composer/author of the Mahabharata

भवेत्could be / might be

पुरुषसिंहO lion among men

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa

Nārāyaṇa

Mahābhārata

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 asserts that Vyāsa should be recognized as Nārāyaṇa incarnate on earth, implying that the Mahābhārata carries divine authority and is meant to guide conduct (dharma) rather than serve as mere entertainment or history.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, while narrating, elevates Vyāsa’s status and underscores the epic’s sanctity by declaring that only the Lord could be its true author, addressing the listener with honorific epithets (‘tiger/lion among men’).