Shloka 11

Adhyāya 160: Dikpāla-Cosmography and the Sun’s Kālacakra (दिक्पाल-विश्ववर्णनम् तथा आदित्यस्य कालचक्रम्)

Devanagari script

पितृपैतामहं वृत्तं कच्चित्‌ पार्थनुवर्तसे । कच्चिद्‌ राजर्षियातेन पथा गच्छसि पाण्डव,'पार्थ! तुम्हारे आचार-व्यवहारसे पुरोहित धौम्यजीको क्लेश तो नहीं पहुँचता है? कुन्तीनन्दन! कया तुम दान, धर्म, तप, शौच, सरलता और क्षमा आदिके द्वारा अपने बाप- दादोंके आचार-व्यवहारका अनुसरण करते हो? पाण्डुनन्दन! प्राचीन राजर्षि जिस मार्गसे गये हैं, उसीपर तुम भी चलते हो न?

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

pitṛpaitāmahaṃ vṛttaṃ kaccit pārthānuvartase |

kaccid rājarṣiyātena pathā gacchasi pāṇḍava ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O Pārtha, do you still follow the conduct handed down by your fathers and grandfathers? O Pāṇḍava, do you walk the very path once trodden by the royal seers—upholding the ancient standard of righteous kings?”

Word by Word

पितृof the father

पैतामहम्ancestral (of the grandfather/forefathers)

वृत्तम्conduct, practice

कच्चित्surely? (interrogative particle: 'I hope')

पार्थO Partha (son of Pritha)

अनुवर्तसेdo you follow, do you conform to

कच्चित्surely? (I hope)

राजर्षिby the royal sage(s) / by the king-sages

यातेनgone, traversed

पथाby the path, on the path

गच्छसिdo you go, do you proceed

पाण्डवO Pandava

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pārtha (Arjuna / a Pāṇḍava)

Pāṇḍava (descendant of Pāṇḍu)

Pitṛs (fathers/ancestors)

Paitāmahas (grandfathers/forefathers)

Rājarṣis (royal seers)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse urges a Pāṇḍava to preserve ancestral standards of conduct and to follow the dharmic path exemplified by earlier rājarṣis—kings whose authority was grounded in ethical restraint, generosity, purity, and justice.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a Pāṇḍava (addressed as Pārtha/Pāṇḍava) is questioned about whether he continues to live according to the inherited code of his lineage and the time-honored path of righteous royal sages.