Shloka 8

Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna Saṃvāda in Indraprastha: Consolation, Legitimation, and Leave for Dvārakā (आश्वमेधिकपर्व, अध्याय १५)

Devanagari script

मधुरास्तु कथाश्षित्राश्षित्रार्थपदनिश्चया: । निश्चयज्ञ: स पार्थाय कथयामास केशव:

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

madhurās tu kathāś citrāś citrārthapadaniścayāḥ |

niścayajñaḥ sa pārthāya kathayāmāsa keśavaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Those accounts were sweet to hear, varied and vivid, and their meanings were firmly established through well-chosen words. Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), skilled in discerning what is certain and true, related them to Pārtha (Arjuna).

Word by Word

• मधुराः: sweet, pleasant
• मधुराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मधुर
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• कथाः: stories, narrations
• कथाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• चित्राः: variegated, wonderful
• चित्राः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्र
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• चित्रार्थपदनिश्चयाः: having determinate (clear) words and meanings that are striking/wonderful
• चित्रार्थपदनिश्चयाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चित्रार्थपदनिश्चय
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• निश्चयज्ञः: knower of certainty/decision; one who knows the conclusion
• निश्चयज्ञः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निश्चयज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पार्थाय: to Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• कथयामास: told, narrated
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय्
• Form: Periphrastic Perfect (लिट्), Third, Singular

• केशवः: Keshava (Krishna)
• केशवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• Pārtha (Arjuna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Effective ethical instruction should be both pleasing and clear: the discourse is described as sweet, vivid, and firmly grounded in meaning, and it is delivered by one who can discern what is truly certain (niścaya).

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana frames a scene in which Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) is recounting or expounding well-formed teachings/stories to Arjuna (Pārtha), emphasizing the quality and decisiveness of the instruction.