Shloka 67

Kṛṣṇa-vīrya-kathana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s appraisal of Vāsudeva’s deeds

Devanagari script

न पूर्वे नापरे चक्रुरिदं केचन मानवा: । इतीदं चुक्रुशु्देवा: कृते कर्मणि दुष्करे,राजा जब उस दुष्कर यज्ञका अनुष्ठान पूर्ण कर चुके, तब सम्पूर्ण देवताओंने यह पुकार-पुकारकर कहा कि “ऐसा यज्ञ पहलेके और बादके भी मनुष्योंने कभी नहीं किया था'

Transliteration

na pūrve nāpare cakrur idaṁ kecana mānavāḥ | itīdaṁ cukruśur devāḥ kṛte karmaṇi duṣkare ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : « Ni jadis, ni dans les âges à venir, aucun homme n’accomplit pareille œuvre. » Ainsi, lorsque ce rite difficile fut achevé, les dieux s’écrièrent sans cesse, proclamant la résolution extraordinaire du roi et l’incomparable difficulté du sacrifice qu’il avait mené à terme.

Word by Word

नnot

पूर्वेin the past/earlier time

नnor

अपरेin later time/afterwards

चक्रुःdid/performed

इदम्this

केचनany/some

मानवाःmen/humans

इतिthus/quoting

इदम्this (statement)

चुक्रुशुःcried out/exclaimed

देवाःthe gods

कृतेwhen (it was) done/completed

कर्मणिin the act/rite

दुष्करेdifficult/hard-to-do

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

devāḥ (the gods)

mānavāḥ (human beings)

rājā (the king, implied by context)

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 underscores that truly arduous, dharma-aligned undertakings—especially those requiring discipline and sacrifice—are rare across ages; when completed, they become standards of excellence acknowledged even by divine witnesses.

What is happening in the narrative?

After an exceptionally difficult rite has been successfully completed, the gods repeatedly proclaim that no humans in earlier or later times have performed anything comparable, highlighting the uniqueness of the king’s accomplishment.