Shloka 12

अर्हणनिर्णयः

Decision on the Highest Honor at the Assembly

Devanagari script

सस्मार च पुरा वृत्तां कथां तां पुरुषर्षभ । अंशावतरणे यासौ ब्रह्मणो भवने5भवत्‌,नरश्रेष्ठ भगवान्‌के सम्पूर्ण अंशों (देवताओं)-सहित अवतार लेनेके सम्बन्धमें ब्रह्मलोकमें पहले जो चर्चा हुई थी, वह प्राचीन घटना उन्हें याद आ गयी

Transliteration

sasmāra ca purā vṛttāṃ kathāṃ tāṃ puruṣarṣabha | aṃśāvataraṇe yāsau brahmaṇo bhavane 'bhavat ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Il se remémora alors un récit ancien, ô le meilleur des hommes : l’entretien qui s’était tenu jadis dans la demeure de Brahmā au sujet de la descente dans le monde du Seigneur, accompagné des parts plénières des dieux.

Word by Word

सस्मारremembered

चand

पुराformerly, earlier

वृत्ताम्happened, occurred (past)

कथाम्story, account

ताम्that

पुरुषर्षभO bull among men

अंशावतरणेin/with regard to the descent (incarnation) of portions

याwhich

असौthat (well-known)

ब्रह्मणःof Brahmā

भवनेin the abode/house

अभवत्was, occurred

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Brahmā

Brahmaloka (Brahmā’s abode)

Devas (gods, implied by aṃśa)

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 worldly events as connected to a prior divine deliberation: the restoration of cosmic order can involve a planned descent of divine powers (aṃśas), emphasizing providence and the moral architecture behind history.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator indicates that a character recalls an earlier, ancient discussion in Brahmā’s realm about the gods’ partial incarnations—setting up background for why major figures and events unfold as they do.