Shloka 16

Devanagari script

हन्त ते कथयिष्यामि पौराणीमृषिसंस्तुताम्‌ । कथामिमां नरश्रेष्ठ खाण्डवस्य विनाशिनीम्‌,नरश्रेष्ठ खाण्डववनके विनाशसे सम्बन्ध रखनेवाली यह प्राचीन कथा महर्षियोंद्वारा प्रस्तुत की गयी है। उसीको मैं तुमसे कहूँगा

Transliteration

hanta te kathayiṣyāmi paurāṇīm ṛṣisaṃstutām | kathām imāṃ naraśreṣṭha khāṇḍavasya vināśinīm ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Ven, te contaré este relato antiguo, alabado por los sabios videntes; oh el mejor de los hombres, esta historia concierne a la destrucción del bosque de Khāṇḍava».

Word by Word

हन्तindeed/lo!/well then

तेto you

कथयिष्यामिI shall tell

पौराणीम्ancient/old (traditional)

ऋषि-संस्तुताम्praised by sages

कथाम्story

इमाम्this

नर-श्रेष्ठO best of men

खाण्डवस्यof Khāṇḍava

विनाशिनीम्destroying; causing the destruction

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Khāṇḍava (forest)

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 the coming episode as an authoritative, time-honored tradition “praised by seers,” emphasizing that major events—especially destructive ones—should be understood through reliable transmission and reflective listening, not mere sensational detail.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana announces that he will now recount an ancient, sage-approved story specifically connected with the destruction of the Khāṇḍava forest, introducing the Khāṇḍava-dahana episode.