Shloka 92

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

उपविष्टं महाराज पद्मेन्दुसद्शाननम्‌ | फुल्लपद्मविशालाक्षं बालं पश्यामि भारत,नराधिप! उस वृक्षकी चौड़ी शाखापर एक पलंग था, जिसके ऊपर दिव्य बिछौने बिछे हुए थे। महाराज! उस पलंगपर एक सुन्दर बालक बैठा दिखायी दिया, जिसका मुख कमलके समान कमनीय शोभा धारण करनेवाला तथा चन्द्रमाके समान नेत्रोंको आनन्द देनेवाला था। उसके नेत्र प्रफुल्ल पद्मदलके समान विशाल थे

Transliteration

upaviṣṭaṃ mahārāja padmendusadṛśānanam | phullapadmaviśālākṣaṃ bālaṃ paśyāmi bhārata ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O great king, O Bhārata, I behold a boy seated there—his face lovely like a lotus and the moon, and his eyes wide like fully blossomed lotus-petals.”

Word by Word

उपविष्टम्seated

महाराजO great king

पद्मwith a lotus

इन्दुwith the moon

सदृशsimilar (to)

आननम्face

फुल्लbloomed, fully opened

पद्मlotus

विशालlarge, wide

अक्षम्eye

बालम्a boy, child

पश्यामिI see

भारतO Bharata

नराधिपO lord of men (king)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya in frame narrative)

Bhārata (dynastic epithet)

bāla (a divine-looking boy)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 primarily conveys auspicious, dharmic symbolism through imagery: lotus- and moon-like features signify purity, serenity, and divine favor—suggesting that true excellence and authority are aligned with inner clarity and auspicious qualities rather than mere power.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana describes a striking vision: a beautiful boy seated, with a lotus-and-moon-like face and wide lotus-like eyes. The description heightens wonder and signals the presence of an extraordinary (often divine or fated) figure within the unfolding forest narrative.