Shloka 19

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच शृणु विस्तरशो राजन्‌ वदतो मे परंतप । दाहं जतुगृहस्यैतत्‌ पाण्डवानां च मोक्षणम्‌,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले नरेश! मैं लाक्षागृहके जलने और पाण्डवोंके उससे बच जानेका वृत्तान्त विस्तारपूर्वक कहता हूँ, सुनो

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: śṛṇu vistaraśo rājan vadato me parantapa | dāhaṃ jatugṛhasyaitat pāṇḍavānāṃ ca mokṣaṇam ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Oh rey, azote de enemigos, escucha mientras lo relato con detalle: el incendio de la casa de laca y la liberación de los Pāṇḍavas de aquel lugar.»

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'śṛṇu': 'listen', 'vistaraśaḥ': 'in detail, expansively', 'rājan': 'O king', 'vadataḥ me': 'as I speak / of me speaking', 'parantapa': 'scorcher of enemies

• an epithet of the king (Janamejaya)', 'dāham': 'burning, conflagration', 'jatugṛhasya': 'of the lac-house (house made with lac/resin, hence highly flammable)', 'etat': 'this (account/episode)', 'pāṇḍavānām': 'of the Pāṇḍavas', 'ca': 'and', 'mokṣaṇam': 'release, rescue, deliverance'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Jatugṛha (lac-house)
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a moral turning point: adharma operates through covert harm (the lac-house plot), while dharma is aligned with protecting life and exposing treachery. It also highlights responsible kingship—listening carefully to history to discern ethical lessons.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses King Janamejaya and announces that he will narrate, in detail, the episode of the lac-house being set on fire and how the Pāṇḍavas escaped—introducing the forthcoming account of the conspiracy and their rescue.