Shloka 14

नियोगप्रसङ्गः — The Niyoga Episode: Births of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Pāṇḍu, and Vidura

Devanagari script

नन्दिनीं नाम राजेन्द्र सर्वकामधुगुत्तमाम्‌ । सा विस्मयसमाविष्टा शीलद्रविणसम्पदा

Transliteration

nandinīṁ nāma rājendra sarvakāmadhuguttamām | sā vismayasamāviṣṭā śīladraviṇasampadā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai raja, tampaklah sapi bernama Nandinī—yang utama di antara para pemberi segala anugerah yang diinginkan. Melihatnya, sang istri Vasu, berhias keluhuran budi dan kemakmuran, tertegun dalam keajaiban.”

Word by Word

• नन्दिनीम्: Nandinī (the cow)
• नन्दिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नन्दिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नाम: by name
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सर्वकामधुक्: all-desire-yielding (wish-fulfilling)
• सर्वकामधुक्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्वकामधुक्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• उत्तमाम्: best, excellent
• उत्तमाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्तम
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• विस्मयसमाविष्टा: entered/overcome by wonder
• विस्मयसमाविष्टा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-विश् (क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शीलद्रविणसम्पदा: by (her) wealth of character and riches
• शीलद्रविणसम्पदा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीलद्रविणसम्पद्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Nandinī
• rājendra (the king being addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights reverence for extraordinary, dharma-linked sources of sustenance (symbolized by the wish-fulfilling cow) and shows how virtue (śīla) together with rightful prosperity (draviṇa-sampad) evokes awe rather than greed—an ethical cue about how power and abundance should be approached.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to the king the sight of Nandinī, famed as the foremost giver of all desired things; upon seeing her, a noble and prosperous lady is overwhelmed with astonishment.