Shloka 22

Araṇi Lost to the Deer: Pāṇḍavas Pursue to Preserve Agnihotra (अरणी-हरण प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

राजपुत्र्यास्तु गर्भ: स मालव्या भरतर्षभ । व्यवर्धत तदा शुक्ले तारापतिरिवाम्बरे,भरतश्रेष्ठ! अश्वपतिकी पत्नी मालवदेशकी राजकुमारी थीं। उनका वह गर्भ आकाशमें शुक्लपक्षीय चन्द्रमाकी भाँति दिनोदिन बढ़ने लगा

Transliteration

rājaputryāstu garbhaḥ sa mālavyā bharatarṣabha | vyavardhata tadā śukle tārāpatir ivāmbare ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O bull among the Bharatas, the embryo in that princess of Mālava grew steadily day by day, like the bright moon in the clear sky during the waxing fortnight.”

Word by Word

राजपुत्र्याःof the princess

तुindeed/but

गर्भःembryo/pregnancy

सःthat/he (that one)

मालव्याःof the Malavi woman / of the woman from Malava

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

व्यवर्धतgrew/increased

तदाthen/at that time

शुक्लेin the bright (fortnight)

तारापतिःlord of the stars (the moon)

इवlike/as

अम्बरेin the sky

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Bharatarṣabha (addressed listener, typically Yudhiṣṭhira in this dialogue frame)

Mālava (region/people)

the Mālava princess (rājaputrī)

the moon (tārāpati)

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 highlights the auspicious, orderly growth of new life and the continuity of royal lineage, using the waxing moon as an ethical-literary symbol of steady increase and благоприятность (auspiciousness) rather than sudden or chaotic change.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes how the Mālava princess’s pregnancy developed progressively, comparing the growing embryo to the waxing moon shining in the sky.