Shloka 2

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Procession, Encampment (Niveśa), and Auspicious Timing for Ritual Action

Devanagari script

रत्नं च यन्मरुत्तेन निहितं वसुधातले । तदवाप कथं चेति तनमे ब्रूहि द्विजोत्तम

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca |

ratnaṁ ca yan Maruttena nihitaṁ vasudhā-tale |

tad avāpa kathaṁ ceti tan me brūhi dvijottama ||

Translation

Janamejaya dijo: «Oh el mejor de los dos veces nacidos, dime esto: el tesoro que el rey Marutta depositó sobre la faz de la tierra, ¿cómo fue obtenido? Y después de oír las palabras del gran Vyāsa, ¿qué hizo a continuación el rey Yudhiṣṭhira en relación con el sacrificio del Aśvamedha?»

Word by Word

• {'ratnam': 'treasure, jewel, valuable wealth', 'yat': 'which, that which', 'Maruttena': 'by Marutta (instrumental singular)', 'nihitam': 'placed, deposited, stored', 'vasudhā-tale': 'on the surface of the earth (lit. ‘on the ground of the earth’)', 'tat': 'that', 'avāpa': 'obtained, acquired, came to possess', 'katham': 'how?', 'ca': 'and', 'iti': 'thus (quotative particle)', 'tat me brūhi': 'tell that to me', 'dvijottama': 'O best of the twice-born (address to a Brahmin sage)'}

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Marutta
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Vyāsa
• ratna (treasure)
• vasudhā (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse models dhārmic inquiry: a king seeks clarity from a qualified sage about the rightful acquisition and use of wealth in the context of a major royal rite (Aśvamedha), implying that power and prosperity should be guided by authoritative counsel and ethical purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya asks the narrator-sage to explain two linked points: what Yudhiṣṭhira did regarding the Aśvamedha after hearing Vyāsa, and how the treasure once deposited by King Marutta on the earth was later obtained.