Shloka 43

Tapovana-praveśaḥ — The King’s Entry into the Sacred Grove and Vision of the Āśrama

Devanagari script

तत्‌ प्रधानात्मनस्तस्य भूमे: कृत्यं स्वयम्भुवः । पूर्वमेवाभवद्‌ राजन्‌ विदितं परमेछ्िन:,भारत! तदनन्तर शरण चाहनेवाली भूमिने समस्त लोकपालोंके समीप अपना सारा दुःख ब्रह्माजीसे निवेदन किया। राजन! स्वयम्भू ब्रह्मा सबके कारणरूप हैं, अतः पृथ्वीका जो आवश्यक कार्य था वह उन्हें पहलेसे ही ज्ञात हो गया था

Transliteration

tad pradhānātmanas tasya bhūmeḥ kṛtyaṃ svayambhuvaḥ | pūrvam evābhavad rājan viditaṃ parameṣṭhinaḥ bhārata |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: O King, O Bhārata, the necessary task of that Earth—whose very nature is rooted in the primal principle—was already known beforehand to Svayambhū, the Self-born Creator, Parameṣṭhin. Thus, even before she sought refuge and voiced her sorrow, the Lord who is the causal source of all had understood her need.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tad', 'meaning': 'that

• referring to the matter at hand'}, {'term': 'pradhāna-ātman', 'meaning': 'having Pradhāna (primordial material principle) as its nature

• rooted in the primal ground'}, {'term': 'bhūmiḥ', 'meaning': 'the Earth

• the goddess/personified Earth'}, {'term': 'kṛtya', 'meaning': 'a required act

• necessary task to be accomplished'}, {'term': 'svayambhū', 'meaning': 'the Self-born

• an epithet of Brahmā'}, {'term': 'pūrvam eva', 'meaning': 'even beforehand

• already earlier'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'meaning': 'O king (address to Janamejaya)'}, {'term': 'viditam', 'meaning': 'known

• understood'}, {'term': 'parameṣṭhin', 'meaning': 'the Supreme Ruler/Ordainer

• an epithet of Brahmā'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'meaning': 'O descendant of Bharata

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Bhūmi (Earth)
• Svayambhū (Brahmā)
• Parameṣṭhin (Brahmā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes divine foreknowledge and cosmic governance: the Creator (Brahmā), as the causal source, already knows the world’s necessities before beings articulate them. Ethically, it frames suffering and disorder as matters addressed within a larger moral-cosmic order rather than mere accident.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells King Janamejaya that Earth’s pressing burden and the required remedy were already known to Brahmā (Svayambhū/Parameṣṭhin). This sets up Earth’s later act of seeking refuge and presenting her distress to the gods and to Brahmā.