Shloka 10

युधिष्ठिरस्य अर्जुनप्रेषण-युक्तिवर्णनम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rationale for Sending Arjuna and Request to Dhaumya

Devanagari script

सुगन्धां शतकुम्भां च पठचयज्ञां च भारत

Transliteration

sugandhāṁ śatakumbhāṁ ca paṭhacayajñāṁ ca bhārata

Translation

Ô Bhārata, (il évoqua) des offrandes parfumées et cent vases d’or, ainsi que la récitation et l’accomplissement des rites sacrificiels, faisant naître l’atmosphère de la bienséance rituelle et le poids éthique accordé à une observance juste et de bon augure.

Word by Word

• सुगन्धाम्: fragrant (one)
• सुगन्धाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुगन्धा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शतकुम्भाम्: a (golden) jar/pitcher (lit. ‘hundred-jug’)
• शतकुम्भाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतकुम्भा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• पठचयज्ञाम्: a (named) sacrifice/rite ‘Paṭhaca-yajñā’ (proper name/epithet)
• पठचयज्ञाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पठचयज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

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

• भारत: O Bhārata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata
• śatakumbha (hundred vessels)
• yajña (sacrifice/rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical and dharmic importance of auspicious, correctly performed ritual action—fragrance, proper vessels, and Vedic recitation symbolize purity, order, and reverence in sacred duties.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker addresses ‘Bhārata’ while listing ritual elements—fragrant items, a hundred vessels, and sacrificial recitation—suggesting a description or prescription of a yajña context within the ongoing discourse of Vana Parva.