Shloka 131

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

अष्टौ श्लोकसहस्राणि अष्टौ श्लोकशतानि च । श्लोकाश्न चतुराशीतिर्मुनिनोक्ता महात्मना,महात्मा व्यास मुनिने इन दो सौ सत्ताईस (२२७) अध्यायोंमें आठ हजार आठ सौ चौरासी (८,८८४) श्लोक कहे हैं

Transliteration

aṣṭau ślokasahasrāṇi aṣṭau ślokaśatāni ca | ślokāś ca caturāśītir muninoktā mahātmanā ||

Translation

Rāma dit : «Le grand sage a déclaré que cette œuvre contient huit mille vers, plus huit cents, et encore quatre-vingt-quatre vers.» Dans son contexte, l’énoncé tient lieu d’énumération de type colophon traditionnel, soulignant l’ampleur et la transmission faisant autorité du Mahābhārata tel que l’a conservé le sage Vyāsa.

Word by Word

अष्टौeight (pairs of)

श्लोकसहस्राणिthousands of verses

अष्टौeight (pairs of)

श्लोकशतानिhundreds of verses

चand

श्लोकाःverses

चतुरशीतिḥeighty-four

मुनिनाby the sage

उक्ताःspoken/uttered

महात्मनाby the great-souled one

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Rāma

Muni (sage)

Mahātmā (the great-souled one)

Vyāsa (implied by the accompanying Hindi note)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the epic’s received authority and careful transmission by presenting a formal count of verses, a traditional way to mark completeness, authenticity, and the magnitude of the Mahābhārata as a sacred-historical text.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker identified as Rāma cites a sage’s statement giving the number of verses in the work. It functions like a cataloging remark within the broader framing that introduces and situates the Mahābhārata’s composition and scope.