Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 97 Shloka 13 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

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Shloka 13

Pātāla-varṇana (Nārada’s Description of the Netherworld) / पातालवर्णनम्

Devanagari script

ज्योत्स्नाकालीति यामाहुर्द्धितीयां रूपत: श्रियम्‌ । अदित्याश्वैव य: पुत्रो ज्येष्ठ: श्रेष्ठ: कृत: स्मृत:

Transliteration

jyotsnākālīti yām āhur dvitīyāṁ rūpataḥ śriyam | adityāśvaiva yaḥ putro jyeṣṭhaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ kṛtaḥ smṛtaḥ ||

Translation

Kaṇva said: “The one whom people call Jyotsnākālī is the second daughter, and in beauty she appears like Śrī (Lakṣmī) herself. She has chosen and acknowledged as her most excellent husband the eldest son of Aditi—Sūrya, famed as the foremost among the gods.”

Word by Word

ज्योत्स्नाकालीJyotsnākālī (name)

इतिthus

याwho (she)

आहुःthey call / have called

द्वितीयाम्the second (one)

रूपतःin appearance / by form

श्रियम्Śrī, Lakṣmī (prosperity/goddess)

अदित्याःof Aditi

इवlike, as

यःwho

पुत्रःson

ज्येष्ठःeldest

श्रेष्ठःbest, excellent

कृतःmade, appointed

स्मृतःremembered, known as

Speaker

कण्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

क

कण्व (Kaṇva)

ज

ज्योत्स्नाकाली (Jyotsnākālī)

श

श्री/लक्ष्मी (Śrī/Lakṣmī)

अ

अदिति (Aditi)

स

सूर्य (Sūrya)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the traditional ideal of recognizing excellence and auspiciousness (śrī) in rightful alliances: a woman of radiant beauty is paired with the foremost divine figure, reflecting a worldview where social and cosmic order are mirrored through appropriate, merit-aligned relationships.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kaṇva is describing a lineage detail: he identifies the second daughter named Jyotsnākālī, praises her beauty as Lakṣmī-like, and states that she has taken as her husband Sūrya, the eldest son of the goddess Aditi, renowned as the foremost.