Shloka 20

मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction

Devanagari script

कुवलाश्चस्य पुत्रैश्न तस्मिन्‌ वै बालुकार्णवे

Transliteration

kuvalāś casya putraiś na tasmin vai bālukārṇave

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “And Kuvalāśva, together with his sons, was there in that very ocean-like expanse of sand.”

Word by Word

• कुवलाः: the Kuvalas (a people/tribe)
• कुवलाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुवल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अस्य: of him / his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• पुत्रैः: by/with (his) sons
• पुत्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वै: indeed / surely
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• बालुका-अर्णवे: in the ocean of sand (sandy sea/desert)
• बालुका-अर्णवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बालुका-अर्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Kuvalāśva
• Kuvalāśva’s sons
• bālukārṇava (ocean of sand)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores steadfast resolve in a daunting setting: a righteous king and his sons persist together through an inhospitable ‘ocean of sand’, suggesting that dharmic aims require endurance and shared responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya continues a tale by locating King Kuvalāśva and his sons in a vast sandy expanse described as an ‘ocean of sand’, setting the scene for the next action in the episode.