Shloka 12
Rāmopākhyāna—Rāma–Sītā Origins and the Opening of Rāvaṇa’s Genealogy
सत्यमेतत् त्वयोक्तं हि पाण्डवेषु दुरात्मसु । निहतेषु नरश्रेष्ठ प्राप्ते चापि महाक्रतौ
satyam etat tvayoktaṃ hi pāṇḍaveṣu durātmasu | nihateṣu naraśreṣṭha prāpte cāpi mahākratau ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “What you have said is indeed true regarding the Pāṇḍavas of wicked disposition. When those foremost of men have been slain, and when the great sacrifice has also been brought to its destined point…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores satya (truthfulness) as a moral anchor: the narrator affirms that a prior statement is true and frames events—slaying of eminent men and the culmination of a great rite—as conditions that bring about consequential outcomes. It highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical emphasis that actions, especially violent ones, and major ritual undertakings are not isolated; they carry moral and narrative consequences.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, confirms the truth of what has just been said about the Pāṇḍavas and refers to a situation in which great men have been killed and a major sacrificial rite has reached its critical stage or completion. The line functions as a connective narration, validating the preceding claim and setting up the next development tied to these conditions.