Mahabharata 3.201.25 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 25

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

आकल्प: परिचर्या च गात्रसंवाहनानि च । अन्नैकैकं नृपश्रेष्ठ गोदानाद्धयतिरिच्यते

Transliteration

ākalpaḥ paricaryā ca gātrasaṃvāhanāni ca | annaikaikaṃ nṛpaśreṣṭha godānādd hy atiricyate ||

Translation

मार्कण्डेय बोले—हे नृपश्रेष्ठ! यथोचित उपचर्या, सतत परिचर्या, अंग-संवाहन—और ऐसे ही एक-एक विनीत कर्म भी गोदान से बढ़कर फल देते हैं।

Word by Word

• आकल्पः: proper arrangement/attentive service (as prescribed)
• आकल्पः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आकल्प
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• परिचर्या: attendance, service
• परिचर्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिचर्या
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• गात्रसंवाहनानि: massaging of the limbs
• गात्रसंवाहनानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्रसंवाहन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

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

• अन्नैकैकम्: each single (act) of food-giving (i.e., each one among these acts)
• अन्नैकैकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्न-एक-एक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• गोदानात्: than a gift of cows
• गोदानात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदान
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• अतिरिच्यते: is surpassed/exceeded
• Type: Verb
• Root: अति-√रिच्
• Form: Present, 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada (Passive/Impersonal sense)

• नृपश्रेष्ठ: O best of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• nṛpaśreṣṭha (the king addressed)
• go-dāna (cow-gift)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That humble, direct service—attending properly, caring for the body, and devoted personal assistance to the worthy—can yield greater spiritual merit than prestigious gifts like cow-donation, because it expresses reverence and sustains dharma in practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king and instructs him on comparative merit: he elevates concrete acts of service (paricaryā, saṃvāhana) above celebrated acts of charity (go-dāna), emphasizing lived devotion and ethical conduct.