Shloka 19

अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope

Devanagari script

भारतस्येतिहासस्य पुण्यां ग्रन्थार्थसंयुताम्‌ । संस्कारोपगतां ब्राह्मीं नानाशास्त्रोपबृंहिताम्‌

Transliteration

bhāratasyetihāsasya puṇyāṃ granthārthasaṃyutām | saṃskāropagatāṃ brāhmīṃ nānāśāstropabṛṃhitām

Translation

This sacred account of the Bhārata—rich in the meaning of its narrative and teachings—has been refined through proper tradition and discipline, expressed in elevated, Vedic speech, and strengthened by many branches of learning. It presents history not as mere record, but as ethically charged instruction shaped by culture, scripture, and reasoned knowledge.

Word by Word

• भारतस्य: of Bharata (i.e., of the Bharata lineage/India)
• भारतस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• इतिहासस्य: of the history/itihasa
• इतिहासस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: इतिहास
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पुण्याम्: holy, meritorious
• पुण्याम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ग्रन्थार्थसंयुताम्: endowed with the meaning/purport of the text
• ग्रन्थार्थसंयुताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ग्रन्थार्थसंयुत
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• संस्कारोपगताम्: refined by संस्कार (purificatory rites/cultivation)
• संस्कारोपगताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संस्कारोपगत
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• ब्राह्मीम्: Brahmic/sacred (pertaining to Brahman/Brāhmaṇa tradition)
• ब्राह्मीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्मी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नाना: various, many kinds of
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाना

• शास्त्रोपबृंहिताम्: augmented/enriched by treatises (śāstras)
• शास्त्रोपबृंहिताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शास्त्रोपबृंहित
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (Mahābhārata/Itihāsa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the Mahābhārata as a sacred itihāsa whose purpose is ethical and spiritual instruction: it is carefully refined by tradition (saṃskāra), expressed in authoritative sacred language (brāhmī), and supported by multiple disciplines (śāstras), implying that its narrative carries deliberate moral and philosophical purport.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of the Ādi Parva, the text is being introduced and praised: the speaker characterizes the Bhārata as a holy, well-structured work with coherent meaning, shaped by cultural and ritual refinement and enriched by diverse branches of knowledge—setting expectations for a comprehensive dharma-centered epic.