Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 42

Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections

Devanagari script

दिव्या मनोरमा: पुण्या: कथा: शुआव सा तदा । अतीता सा त्वनावृष्टिर्घोरा द्वादशवार्षिकी

Transliteration

divyā manoramāḥ puṇyāḥ kathāḥ śuśrāva sā tadā | atītā sā tv anāvṛṣṭir ghorā dvādaśavārṣikī ||

Translation

उस समय उसने दिव्य, मनोहर और परम पवित्र कथाएँ सुनीं। इतने में ही बारह वर्षों की वह भयंकर अनावृष्टि समाप्त हो गई। इस प्रकार वह अत्यन्त दारुण काल उसके लिए मानो एक दिन के समान व्यतीत हो गया।

Word by Word

• {'divyāḥ': 'divine, heavenly', 'manoramāḥ': 'charming, pleasing to the mind', 'puṇyāḥ': 'holy, meritorious, purifying', 'kathāḥ': 'stories, narratives (often with moral/religious import)', 'śuśrāva': "she heard (perfect of √śru, 'to hear')", 'sā': 'she', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'atītā': 'passed, elapsed, gone by', 'anāvṛṣṭiḥ': 'drought, absence of rain', 'ghorā': 'terrible, dreadful', 'dvādaśavārṣikī': 'lasting twelve years'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• अनावृष्टि (drought)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the sustaining and purifying force of śravaṇa—listening to sacred, auspicious narratives—which helps one endure prolonged hardship with steadiness; even severe suffering can feel shortened when borne with inner support and faith.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that a woman hears holy, delightful, divine stories, and during this period the terrible twelve-year drought passes and finally ends, with the time of distress seeming to pass swiftly.