Shloka 29

अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)

Devanagari script

कुशलं राजशार्दूल कच्चित्‌ ते कुरुनन्दन । अरण्यवासादू दिष्ट्यासि विमुक्तो जयतां वर,“नृपतिश्रेष्ठ कुरुनन्दन! तुम कुशलसे तो हो न? विजयी वीरोंमें श्रेष्ठ नरेश! यह बड़े सौभाग्यकी बात है कि तुम वनवासके कष्टसे छुटकारा पा गये

Transliteration

kuśalaṁ rājaśārdūla kaccit te kurunandana | araṇyavāsād diṣṭyāsi vimukto jayatāṁ vara ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O tiger among kings, O joy of the Kuru line—are you well? Fortunate indeed that you have been released from the hardship of forest-dwelling, O best among the victorious.”

Word by Word

• कुशलम्: well-being, welfare
• कुशलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुशल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• राजशार्दूल: O tiger among kings
• राजशार्दूल: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजशार्दूल
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कच्चित्: whether indeed?, I hope (that...)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित्

• ते: of you, your
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• कुरुनन्दन: O joy of the Kurus
• कुरुनन्दन: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अरण्यवासात्: from forest-dwelling (exile in the forest)
• अरण्यवासात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरण्यवास
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• उ: indeed, surely (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उ

• दिष्ट्या: by good fortune, luckily
• दिष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• असि: you are
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present, Second, Singular

• विमुक्तः: released, freed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-मुच्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जयताम्: of the victorious (ones)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वर: O best, O excellent one
• वर: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kuru dynasty (Kuru)
• addressed king/hero (implied, not named in the verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dharmic speech in political and familial contexts: one first asks after another’s welfare (kuśalam) and acknowledges relief from suffering with gratitude (diṣṭyā). It frames kingship not merely as power but as responsibility tempered by courtesy, empathy, and recognition of fortune.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the epic, reports a respectful address to a Kuru prince/king: the speaker inquires about his well-being and notes—‘by good fortune’—that he has been freed from the hardships of forest exile, marking a transition from exile back into the arena of royal affairs.