Shloka 14

मयस्य प्रतिकृतिः — Maya’s Offer and the Commissioning of the Sabhā

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच प्रतिगृहा तु तद्वाक्यं सम्प्रहृष्टो मयस्तदा । विमानप्रतिमां चक्रे पाण्डवस्य शुभां सभाम्‌,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्‌! भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णकी उस आज्ञाको शिरोधार्य करके मयासुर बहुत प्रसन्न हुआ और उसने उस समय पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिकके लिये विमान-जैसी सुन्दर सभाभवन बनानेका निश्चय किया

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | pratigṛhya tu tadvākyaṃ samprahṛṣṭo mayas tadā | vimānapratimāṃ cakre pāṇḍavasya śubhāṃ sabhām |

Translation

વૈશમ્પાયને કહ્યું—હે રાજન! તે વચનને આજ્ઞા માનીને મયાસુર અત્યંત પ્રસન્ન થયો; અને તે જ સમયે પાંડુપુત્ર યુધિષ્ઠિર માટે વિમાન સમાન તેજસ્વી અને શુભ સભાભવન રચવાનો તેણે સંકલ્પ કર્યો.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'pratigṛhya': 'having accepted, having received (an instruction/request)', 'tu': 'but/and (connective particle)', 'tad-vākyam': 'those words

• that statement/command', 'samprahṛṣṭaḥ': 'greatly delighted, exhilarated', 'mayaḥ (mayāsuraḥ)': 'Maya (the Asura architect)', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'vimāna-pratimām': 'resembling a vimāna

• like a celestial aerial palace', 'cakre': 'made, fashioned, constructed (resolved and executed)', 'pāṇḍavasya': 'of the Pāṇḍava (here, for Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'śubhām': 'auspicious, splendid, beautiful', 'sabhām': 'assembly hall

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Maya (Mayāsura)
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Sabhā (assembly hall)
• Vimāna (celestial aerial palace, as a comparison)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Legitimate authority and dharmic kingship attract support and resources; extraordinary skill (even from unlikely allies) becomes ethically meaningful when directed toward rightful governance rather than vanity or harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maya, pleased after accepting the instruction conveyed to him, decides to construct an exceptionally magnificent assembly hall for the Pāṇḍavas—specifically for King Yudhiṣṭhira—described as resembling a celestial vimāna.