Shloka 3
Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)
तत्र कंचित् सभोद्देशं स्वर्गोद्दिशसमं नृप । यदृच्छया तौ मुदितौ जग्मतु: स्वजनावृतौ
tatra kañcit sabhoddheśaṁ svargoddiśa-samaṁ nṛpa | yadṛcchayā tau muditau jagmatuḥ svajanāvṛtau ||
Wahai raja, pada suatu hari kedua sahabat itu—gembira dan dikelilingi sanak mereka—berjalan-jalan sesuka hati, hingga tanpa disengaja memasuki suatu bagian balairung yang elok laksana kawasan surga.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how significant encounters and turns in life may arise ‘by chance’ (yadṛcchayā), suggesting a narrative sense of providence: even in royal life, events unfold through a mix of human movement and unseen ordering, and auspicious settings often foreshadow important developments.
The narrator describes two friends, cheerful and accompanied by their attendants, wandering into a particularly beautiful, heaven-like part of the royal assembly-hall, setting the scene for what follows.