Shloka 13

Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 106: Pūrva-Diśa Praśaṃsā

Praise and Primacy of the Eastern Quarter

Devanagari script

सो हं प्राणान्‌ विमोक्ष्यामि कृत्वा यत्नमनुत्तमम्‌ | अर्थिता न मया काचित्‌ कृतपूर्वा दिवौकसाम्‌ | मानयन्ति च मां सर्वे त्रिदशा यज्ञसंस्तरे,“अतः मैं कोई उत्तम प्रयत्न करके अपने प्राणोंका परित्याग कर दूँगा। मैंने आजसे पहले देवताओंसे भी कभी कोई याचना नहीं की है। सब देवता यज्ञमें मेरा समादर करते हैं

Transliteration

so 'haṃ prāṇān vimokṣyāmi kṛtvā yatnam anuttamam | arthitā na mayā kācit kṛtapūrvā divaukasām | mānayanti ca māṃ sarve tridaśā yajñasaṃstare ||

Translation

Nārada said: “I will, after making the utmost effort, relinquish my very life. Never before have I made any request of the gods. Yet all the deities honor me upon the sacred ground of sacrifice.”

Word by Word

[{'term'"so 'ham", 'definition': 'I indeed

I myself (emphatic self-reference)'}, {'term''prāṇān', 'definition': 'life-breaths

life itself'}, {'term''vimokṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall release/abandon

I shall give up (heregive up life)'}, {'term': 'kṛtvā', 'definition': 'having done

having made'}, {'term''yatnam', 'definition': 'effort

endeavor'}, {'term''anuttamam', 'definition': 'unsurpassed

utmost'}, {'term''arthitā', 'definition': 'a request

petition (something asked for)'}, {'term''na mayā', 'definition': 'not by me

I have not'}, {'term''kācit', 'definition': 'any (even a single one)'}, {'term': 'kṛtapūrvā', 'definition': 'done previously

made before'}, {'term''divaukasām', 'definition': 'of the dwellers in heaven

of the gods'}, {'term''mānayanti', 'definition': 'they honor

they treat with reverence'}, {'term''sarve', 'definition': 'all'}, {'term': 'tridaśāḥ', 'definition': 'the thirty (gods)

deities (a common epithet for the gods)'}, {'term''yajñasaṃstare', 'definition': 'on the sacrificial ground/altar-spread

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

divaukas (the gods)

tridaśa (the deities)

yajña-saṃstara (sacrificial ground/altar)

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 integrity and moral resolve: one who has maintained dignity and independence (never begging even from the gods) may still be driven to extreme self-sacrifice when duty or honor demands the utmost effort. It also underscores that true honor is earned through character and is recognized even in divine assemblies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada speaks in a tone of intense determination. He declares that he will make an unsurpassed effort and, if necessary, relinquish his life. He emphasizes that he has never previously petitioned the gods, even though the deities honor him in the sacrificial arena—suggesting that the present situation is extraordinary and compels him to a drastic resolve.