Shloka 12

सगरोपाख्यानम् (Sagara-Upākhyāna): Śiva’s boon and the extraordinary birth of Sagara’s progeny

Devanagari script

मार्गमिच्छाम्यहं दत्त भवता पर्वतोत्तम | दक्षिणामभिगन्तास्मि दिशं कार्येण केनचित्‌,'पर्वतश्रेष्ठ! मैं किसी कार्यसे दक्षिण दिशाको जा रहा हूँ, मेरी इच्छा है, तुम मुझे मार्ग प्रदान करो

Transliteration

mārgam icchāmy ahaṃ datta bhavatā parvatottama | dakṣiṇām abhigantāsmi diśaṃ kāryeṇa kenacit ||

Translation

Lomaśa said: “O best of mountains, grant me a path. I am bound for the southern quarter on account of a certain duty; therefore, show me the way.”

Word by Word

• {'mārgam': 'path, route', 'icchāmi': 'I desire, I wish', 'aham': 'I', 'datta': 'grant (imperative sense: ‘give’/‘bestow’)', 'bhavatā': 'by you (instrumental

• respectful address)', 'parvatottama': 'O best of mountains', 'dakṣiṇām diśam': 'the southern direction/quarter', 'abhigantā asmi (abhigantāsmi)': 'I am going toward, I intend to reach', 'kāryeṇa': 'because of a task/duty/purpose', 'kenacit': 'by some (unspecified) [reason/task]'}

Speaker

लोमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa
• Parvatottama (best of mountains)
• Dakṣiṇā diś (southern direction)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights purposeful travel guided by kārya (duty) and the ethic of respectful request: even when intent on one’s own task, one seeks guidance humbly and addresses the other with honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomaśa, in the course of the Vana Parva journey narrative, addresses a ‘best of mountains’ and asks it to indicate a route, explaining that he must proceed southward for some specific purpose.