Shloka 39

Devanagari script

मन्त्रिण ऊचु. शृणु राजन्‌ यथास्माकं येन तत्‌ कथितं पुरा । समागतं द्विजेन्द्रस्य पन्नगेन्द्रस्य चाध्वनि,मन्त्री बोले--राजन्‌! सुनो, विप्रवर काश्यप और नागराज तक्षकका मार्गमें एक- दूसरेके साथ जो समागम हुआ था, उसका समाचार जिसने और जिस प्रकार हमारे सामने बताया था, उसका वर्णन करते हैं। भूपाल! उस वृक्षपर पहलेसे ही कोई मनुष्य लकड़ी लेनेके लिये सूखी डाली खोजता हुआ चढ़ गया था

Transliteration

mantriṇa ūcuḥ | śṛṇu rājan yathāsmākaṃ yena tat kathitaṃ purā | samāgataṃ dvijendrasya pannagendrasya cādhvani |

Translation

Les ministres dirent : «Écoute, ô roi, le récit tel qu’il nous fut jadis rapporté : comment, sur la route, le plus éminent des brahmanes et le seigneur des serpents se trouvèrent face à face.»

Word by Word

मन्त्रिणःministers, counsellors

ऊचुःsaid

शृणुhear, listen

राजन्O king

यथाas, in the manner that

अस्माकम्of us, our

येनby whom / by which

तत्that (matter)

कथितम्told, narrated

पुराformerly, earlier

समागतम्met, come together (meeting)

द्विजेन्द्रस्यof the best of twice-born (brahmin)

पन्नगेन्द्रस्यof the lord of serpents

चand

अध्वनिon the road, on the way

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Janamejaya

the ministers (mantriṇaḥ)

dvijendra (foremost Brahmin, contextually Kāśyapa in the surrounding narrative)

pannagendra (lord of serpents, contextually Takṣaka in the surrounding narrative)

road/path (adhvan)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights responsible transmission of information in a royal setting: ministers present a report with attention to source and accuracy (“as it was told to us earlier”), reflecting the ethical duty of counsellors and the king’s duty to listen carefully before acting.

What is happening in the narrative?

Janamejaya’s ministers begin recounting an earlier incident: the encounter on the road between a great Brahmin (dvijendra, in context Kāśyapa) and the serpent-king (pannagendra, in context Takṣaka). This sets up the causal background for later events connected with the snake-related storyline.