Shloka 312

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत आरणेयपर्वमें नकुल आदि चारों भाइयोंके मूर्च्छित होकर गिरनेसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाला तीन सौ बारहवाँ अध्याय प्रा हुआ ॥/

Transliteration

Iti prakāraṃ Śrīmahābhārata-vanaparvake antargata āraṇeyaparvame Nakulādi cāroṃ bhāiyoṃ ke mūrcchita hokara girane se sambandha rakhanevālā trīśata-dvādaśa-tamo 'dhyāyaḥ prāptaḥ.

Translation

Thus, in the Vana Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata—within the Āraṇeya section—begins the three-hundred-and-twelfth chapter, connected with the episode in which Nakula and the other four brothers, overcome and fainting, fall to the ground.

Word by Word

इतिthus; end-quote marker

प्रकारम्manner; way

श्रीमहाभारतेin the Śrī-Mahābhārata

वनपर्वणिin the Vana-parvan

अन्तर्गतincluded; contained within

आरणेयपर्वणिin the Āraṇeya-parvan

नकुलादिचतुर्भ्रातॄणाम्of the four brothers beginning with Nakula

मूर्च्छितfainted; unconscious

भूत्वाhaving become

पतनात्from (their) falling down

सम्बन्धिनम्related; connected

त्रिशतद्वादशतमःthree-hundred-and-twelfth

अध्यायःchapter

प्राप्तःhas been reached/obtained (i.e., is concluded/arrived)

Speaker

यक्ष उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nakula

the four brothers (Pandava brothers collectively)

Mahabharata

Vana Parva

Araṇeya Parva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Although this line is a chapter-marker rather than a direct instruction, it frames an ethical trial in the forest: the brothers’ collapse signals the consequences of acting without proper discernment and restraint, setting the stage for dharma-centered questioning and right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

The text announces the start of a chapter in the Āraṇeya portion of Vana Parva, tied to the incident where Nakula and the other brothers fall unconscious—an episode that leads into the well-known forest encounter involving a Yakṣa and a test of wisdom.