Shloka 52

Devanagari script

त्रयोदशद्वीपवर्ती गोभिर्भासयसे महीम्‌ । त्रयाणामपि लोकानां हितायैक: प्रवर्तसे,आप अपनी किरणोंद्वारा तेरहः द्वीपोंसे युक्त सम्पूर्ण पृथ्वीको प्रकाशित करते हैं; और अकेले ही तीनों लोकोंके हितके लिये तत्पर रहते हैं

Transliteration

trayodaśadvīpavartī gobhir bhāsayase mahīm | trayāṇām api lokānāṁ hitāyaikaḥ pravartase ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Abiding amid the thirteen islands (dvīpas), you illumine the whole earth with your rays; and alone you ceaselessly act for the welfare of all the three worlds.”

Word by Word

त्रयोदशद्वीपवर्तीdwelling/abiding in the thirteen islands (continents)

गोभिःby (your) rays/beams

भासयसेyou illumine

महीम्the earth

त्रयाणाम्of the three

अपिalso/even

लोकानाम्of the worlds

हितायfor the welfare/benefit

एकःalone/one

प्रवर्तसेyou engage/act (are active)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

the Sun (implied addressee)

Earth (mahī)

the three worlds (trailokya)

thirteen dvīpas (cosmographical islands/continents)

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 ideal of selfless, steady service: like the Sun that illuminates all without partiality, one should act for the welfare of the whole world, sustaining dharma and the common good.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira addresses a cosmic power—implicitly the Sun—praising its universal illumination and its solitary, unceasing labor for the benefit of the three worlds, as part of a devotional or laudatory speech within the forest narrative.