Shloka 31
Adhyāya 325: Nārada in Śvetadvīpa—Stotra to the Nirguṇa Mahātman
प्रावेशयत् ततः कक्ष्यां तृतीयां राजवेश्मन: । थोड़ी ही देरमें राजमन्त्री हाथ जोड़े हुए वहाँ पधारे और उन्हें अपने साथ महलकी तीसरी ड्योढ़ीमें ले गये ।।
prāveśayat tataḥ kakṣyāṃ tṛtīyāṃ rājaveśmanaḥ | tatrāntaḥpurasambaddhaṃ mahac caitrarathopamam |
Bhīṣma dit : «Alors le ministre le conduisit dans la troisième cour intérieure du palais royal. Là, attenante aux appartements des femmes, s’étendait une vaste et merveilleuse jardin, charmant comme le célèbre bosquet de Caitraratha. On y voyait de nombreux bassins distincts, aménagés pour les jeux d’eau, et le parc ravissant brillait d’arbres en pleine floraison. Ce jardin d’exception se nommait Pramadāvana ; le ministre y fit entrer Śukadeva.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights royal hospitality and the deliberate staging of worldly splendor—palace courts, inner gardens, and pleasure-ponds—often used in epic narratives to contrast external luxury with inner discipline, testing whether a visitor (here, Śukadeva) remains steady in dharma and detachment amid temptations.
A royal minister escorts Śukadeva through the palace into the third inner precinct. Adjacent to the antaḥpura lies a magnificent garden likened to Caitraratha, filled with separate ponds for water-play and blooming trees. The garden is named Pramadāvana, and Śukadeva is led inside.