Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 78

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

यौवनस्थाश्न बालाश्न वृद्धाश्ष जनमेजय । सहस््रश: पारिषदा: कुमारमवतस्थिरे

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

yauvanasthāś ca bālāś ca vṛddhāś ca janamejaya |

sahasraśaḥ pāriṣadāḥ kumāram avatasthire ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Janamejaya, jeunes gens, enfants et vieillards—des milliers d’assistants de l’assemblée—se tinrent prêts, debout, au service du Prince (Kumāra/Skanda).»

Word by Word

• यौवनस्थाः: those situated in youth (young men)
• यौवनस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यौवन-स्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बालाः: children
• बालाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• वृद्धाः: the old (elderly persons)
• वृद्धाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• जनमेजय: O Janamejaya
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनमेजय
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सहस्रशः: by thousands; in thousands
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्

• पारिषदाः: attendants; members of the assembly
• पारिषदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पारिषद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कुमारम्: the prince/boy (Kumāra)
• कुमारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुमार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अवतस्थिरे: stood near; attended; remained present
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Ātmanepada

• जनमेजय: O Janamejaya
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनमेजय
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• kumāra (the prince)
• pāriṣadāḥ (assembly attendants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic social order: people of all ages maintain disciplined readiness and respectful service in a formal assembly, implying that devotion, loyalty, and reverence for learning and authority are ethical virtues.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to Janamejaya how thousands of assembly-attendants—children, youths, and elders—take their places and stand in attendance upon a prince, indicating a large, orderly gathering around a central figure.