Shloka 1

Devanagari script

ऑपन- मा बछ। अि<--छऋा (चैत्ररथपर्व) चतुःषष्ट्यधिकशततमो< ध्याय: पाण्डवोंका एक ब्राह्मणसे विचित्र कथाएँ सुनना जनमेजय उवाच ते तथा पुरुषव्याप्रा निहत्य बकराक्षसम्‌ | अत ऊर्ध्व॑ ततो ब्रह्मन्‌ किमकुर्वत पाण्डवा:,जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन्‌! पुरुषसिंह पाण्डवोंने उस प्रकार बकासुरका वध करनेके पश्चात्‌ कौन-सा कार्य किया?

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca | te tathā puruṣavyāprā nihaty bakarākṣasam | ata ūrdhvaṃ tato brahman kim akurvata pāṇḍavāḥ ||

Translation

Dijo Janamejaya: «Oh brahmán, después de que aquellos hombres poderosos y llenos de brío—los Pāṇḍava—dieran muerte al rākṣasa Baka de ese modo, ¿qué hicieron después?»

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

तथाthus, in that manner

पुरुषव्याप्राःman-tigers (heroic men)

निहत्यhaving killed

बकराक्षसम्the demon Baka

अतःthereafter, from that point

ऊर्ध्वम्afterwards, further

ततःthen, thereafter

ब्रह्मन्O Brahmin

किम्what

अकुर्वतdid, performed

पाण्डवाःthe Pandavas

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

Pāṇḍavas

Baka (rākṣasa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames righteous action as protective strength: after removing a violent threat (Baka), the ethical question becomes what responsible course the heroes take next—highlighting accountability and dharmic continuity rather than mere victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrator (addressed as ‘Brahmin’) to continue the story: having heard that the Pāṇḍavas killed the rākṣasa Baka, he now asks what they did afterward.