Shloka 1

Devanagari script

हि 770 08 (0) हि. 7 मी 7 द्वाविशर्त्याधेकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: अग्निदेवका खाण्डववनको जलानेके लिये श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनसे सहायताकी याचना करना, अग्निदेव उस वनको क्यों जलाना चाहते थे, इसे बतानेके प्रसंगमें राजा श्वेतकिकी कथा वैशम्पायन उवाच सोडब्रवीदर्जुनं चैव वासुदेवं च सात्वतम्‌ । लोकप्रवीरौ तिष्ठन्तौ खाण्डवस्य समीपत:

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca

so 'bravīd Arjunaṃ caiva Vāsudevaṃ ca Sātvataṃ |

lokapravīrau tiṣṭhantau Khāṇḍavasya samīpataḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: Se dirigió a Arjuna y a Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), el Sātvata—dos héroes célebres entre los hombres—que estaban de pie cerca del bosque de Khāṇḍava.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

सःhe

उवाचsaid

अर्जुनम्Arjuna

चand

एवindeed/just

वासुदेवम्Vasudeva (Krishna)

चand

सात्वतम्the Satvata (Krishna, of the Satvata clan)

लोकप्रवीरौtwo heroes among men

तिष्ठन्तौstanding

खाण्डवस्यof (the forest) Khāṇḍava

समीपतःnear/at the vicinity

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Arjuna

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Sātvata (epithet/lineage term)

Khāṇḍava forest

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical tension typical of the Mahābhārata: eminent heroes are approached for assistance, implying that even righteous strength must be examined in light of the requester’s intention and the wider consequences of one’s support.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator states that someone (in this episode, Agni) addresses Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa, who are standing near the Khāṇḍava forest—introducing the request that leads into the Khāṇḍava-dāha (burning of the forest) narrative.