Shloka 53

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

Devanagari script

विविध संहिताज्ञानं दीपयन्ति मनीषिण: । व्याख्यातुं कुशला: केचिद्‌ ग्रन्थान्‌ धारयितुं परे,विद्वान्‌ पुरुष इस भारतसंहिताके ज्ञानको विविध प्रकारसे प्रकाशित करते हैं। कोई- कोई ग्रन्थकी व्याख्या करके समझानेमें कुशल होते हैं तो दूसरे विद्वान्‌ अपनी तीक्षण मेधाशक्तिके द्वारा इन ग्रन्थोंको धारण करते हैं

Transliteration

vividha-saṃhitā-jñānaṃ dīpayanti manīṣiṇaḥ | vyākhyātuṃ kuśalāḥ kecid granthān dhārayituṃ pare ||

Translation

Wise scholars illuminate the knowledge contained in the various recensions and compilations. Some are skilled in expounding the texts through explanation, while others, through keen intellect and retentive power, preserve and uphold those works in memory—thus keeping the Bhārata tradition alive and intelligible.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vividha', 'definition': 'various, manifold'}, {'term': 'saṃhitā', 'definition': 'compilation

• recension'}, {'term': 'jñāna', 'definition': 'knowledge, understanding'}, {'term': 'dīpayanti', 'definition': 'they illuminate, make clear, bring to light'}, {'term': 'manīṣiṇaḥ', 'definition': 'sages

• wise, reflective scholars'}, {'term': 'vyākhyātum', 'definition': 'to explain, to expound'}, {'term': 'kuśalāḥ', 'definition': 'skilled, proficient'}, {'term': 'kecit', 'definition': 'some (persons)'}, {'term': 'granthān', 'definition': 'texts, treatises, books'}, {'term': 'dhārayitum', 'definition': 'to hold, retain, preserve (especially in memory)'}, {'term': 'pare', 'definition': 'others'}]

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (Mahābhārata tradition)
• manīṣiṇaḥ (scholars/sages)
• granthāḥ (texts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises two complementary scholarly roles: (1) those who clarify texts through interpretation and teaching, and (2) those who preserve the texts through strong memory and careful retention—both essential for safeguarding dharma-knowledge across generations.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of Ādi Parva, the text reflects on how the Bhārata’s vast learning is maintained and made accessible: learned people ‘illuminate’ it by explanation and by preservation, indicating the living scholarly ecosystem behind the epic’s transmission.