Shloka 33

Devanagari script

नारदश्न सभामध्ये कुरूणामग्रत: स्थित: । महर्षिभि: परिवृतो रौद्रं वाक्यमुवाच ह,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! इस प्रकार राजा धृतराष्ट्र और बुद्धिमान विदुर जब दोनों वहाँ बातचीत कर रहे थे, उसी समय सभामें महर्षियोंसे घिरे हुए देवर्षि नारद कौरवोंके सामने आकर खड़े हो गये और यह भयंकर वचन बोले--

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca — nāradaḥ sabhāmadhye kurūṇām agrataḥ sthitaḥ | maharṣibhiḥ parivṛto raudraṁ vākyam uvāca ha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Au milieu de l’assemblée royale, Nārada se tint devant les Kuru. Entouré de grands rishis, il prononça alors un message farouche et de mauvais augure — des paroles pour avertir, pour juger et pour poser l’enjeu moral de ce qui allait se dérouler.

Word by Word

नारदःNarada

सभामध्येin the midst of the assembly

कुरूणाम्of the Kurus

अग्रतःin front (of)

स्थितःstanding / having stood

महर्षिभिःby/with great sages

परिवृतःsurrounded

रौद्रम्terrible / fierce

वाक्यम्speech; words

उवाचsaid / spoke

हindeed (emphatic particle)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Nārada

Kuru(s)

Mahārṣi(s)

Sabhā (royal assembly hall)

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?

A public warning delivered in a royal court signals that power must remain accountable to dharma; when a divine sage speaks harshly, it frames coming events as moral consequences rather than mere political accidents.

What is happening in the narrative?

During proceedings in the Kuru assembly, the divine sage Nārada arrives, stands before the Kurus, attended by other seers, and begins to deliver a severe, foreboding statement that will influence the court’s understanding of the situation.