Shloka 18

Devanagari script

यथार्चयन्ति चादित्यमुद्रन्तं ब्रह्मवादिन: । तथा संवरणं पार्थ ब्राह्मणावरजा: प्रजा:,पार्थ! जैसे ब्रह्मवादी महर्षि उगते हुए सूर्यकी आराधना करते हैं, उसी प्रकार क्षत्रिय, वैश्य आदि प्रजाएँ महाराज संवरणकी उपासना करती थीं

Transliteration

yathārcayanti cādityam udyantaṃ brahmavādinaḥ | tathā saṃvaraṇaṃ pārtha brāhmaṇāvarajāḥ prajāḥ ||

Translation

The Gandharva said: “Just as the Brahma-knowing sages worship the Sun as he rises, so too, O son of Pṛthā, did the people—those of the orders following the Brāhmaṇas—revere King Saṃvaraṇa.”

Word by Word

यथाjust as

अर्चयन्तिthey worship

चand

आदित्यम्the Sun (Āditya)

उद्रन्तम्rising (appearing upward)

ब्रह्मवादिनःBrahma-speaking sages / theologians

तथाso, in the same way

संवरणम्Saṃvaraṇa (the king)

पार्थO Pārtha

ब्राह्मणावरजाःthose lower than the Brāhmaṇas (i.e., Kṣatriya etc.)

प्रजाःsubjects, people

Speaker

गन्धर्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

Gandharva (speaker)

Āditya (the Sun)

Brahmavādins (Vedic sages)

Saṃvaraṇa (king)

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights rightful reverence: as sages honor the cosmic order embodied by the rising Sun, society likewise honors a dharmic king—suggesting that ethical kingship merits devotion comparable to sacred worship.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Gandharva addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) and describes how the people revered King Saṃvaraṇa, comparing their veneration to the dawn worship performed by Brahmavādin sages.