Shloka 9

Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)

Devanagari script

शृणु गुह्मामिदं राजन्‌ देवानां भरतर्षभ । यदुवाच महातेजा दिव्यचक्षु: प्रतापवान्‌,राजन्‌! भरतश्रेष्ठ) यह देवताओंका गूढ़ रहस्य है। इस विषयमें दिव्य नेत्रवाले, महातेजस्वी, प्रतापी मुनि व्यासजीने जो कहा है, उसे बताता हूँ; सुनो--

Transliteration

śṛṇu guhyam idaṃ rājan devānāṃ bharatarṣabha | yad uvāca mahātejā divyacakṣuḥ pratāpavān ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, bull among the Bharatas, listen to this secret concerning the gods. I shall relate what the mighty, radiant, and valiant sage—endowed with divine sight—Vyāsa declared on this matter.”

Word by Word

• {'śṛṇu': 'hear

• listen (imperative)', 'guhyam': 'secret

• esoteric matter', 'idam': 'this', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'devānām': 'of the gods

• pertaining to the deities', 'bharatarṣabha': 'bull of the Bharatas

• best among Bharata lineage (honorific epithet)', 'yat': 'that which

• what', 'uvāca': 'said

• spoke', 'mahātejāḥ': 'of great splendor/energy

• highly radiant', 'divyacakṣuḥ': 'one with divine sight

• seer with supernatural vision', 'pratāpavān': 'powerful

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Janamejaya
• Vyāsa
• Devas (gods)
• Bharata lineage (Bharatarṣabha epithet)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the next instruction as a ‘guhya’ (secret) doctrine about the gods, emphasizing that it comes from Vyāsa, a seer with divine vision; ethically, it signals that the coming account should be received with reverence and discernment because it concerns higher, divine order and its implications for dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating to King Janamejaya, prepares to disclose an esoteric point connected with the gods, explicitly grounding his narration in Vyāsa’s authoritative statement and urging the king to listen attentively.