Shloka 2

Devanagari script

अथाचष्ट मार्कण्डेयो< पूर्वमिदं श्रूयतां ब्राह्मणानां चरितम्‌,तब मार्कण्डेयजीने कहा--'राजन्‌! ब्राह्मणोंक इस अद्भुत चरित्रका श्रवण करो

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: athācaṣṭa Mārkaṇḍeyo—pūrvam idaṃ śrūyatāṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ caritam.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Then Mārkaṇḍeya spoke, “First, O king, listen to this account of the Brahmins’ remarkable conduct.” The narration turns toward an exemplary story meant to instruct through the remembered deeds and discipline of Brahmins, highlighting reverence for sacred tradition and the ethical power of attentive listening.

Word by Word

अथthen/now

आचष्टsays/tells

मार्कण्डेयःMarkandeya (sage)

पूर्वम्formerly/earlier

इदम्this

श्रूयताम्let it be heard / please listen

ब्राह्मणानाम्of the Brahmins

चरितम्deed/story/conduct

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mārkaṇḍeya

brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)

rājan (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical instruction through attentive listening to exemplary lives: dharma is conveyed not only by rules but by remembered conduct (carita) of the virtuous, especially those devoted to sacred learning and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the sage Mārkaṇḍeya begins a new tale and asks the king to hear first an account concerning the Brahmins’ deeds—signaling a shift into a didactic episode within the Vana Parva.