Shloka 2

Skanda-janma: Śivā/Svāhā, Agni, and the Manifestation of Guha

Mahābhārata 3.214

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच प्रश्नमेतं समुद्दिष्ट ब्राह्मणेन युधिष्ठिर । व्याधस्तु कथयामास ब्राह्मणाय महात्मने,मार्कण्डेयजी कहते हैं--युधिष्ठिर! ब्राह्मणके द्वारा उपस्थित किये गये इस प्रश्नको सुनकर धर्मव्याधने उन महामना ब्राह्मणसे इस प्रकार कहा--

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | praśnam etaṁ samuddiṣṭa brāhmaṇena yudhiṣṭhira | vyādhas tu kathayāmāsa brāhmaṇāya mahātmane ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, when the brāhmaṇa had put forward this question, the righteous hunter (the Dharma-vyādha) began to explain the matter to that noble-minded brāhmaṇa.”

Word by Word

• {'mārkaṇḍeya uvāca': 'Mārkaṇḍeya said', 'praśnam': 'question, inquiry', 'etam': 'this', 'samuddiṣṭaḥ (samuddiṣṭa)': 'presented, proposed, put forward', 'brāhmaṇena': 'by the brāhmaṇa', 'yudhiṣṭhira': 'O Yudhiṣṭhira (vocative)', 'vyādhaḥ': 'hunter', 'tu': 'but/then (connective emphasis)', 'kathayāmāsa': 'began to tell, explained', 'brāhmaṇāya': 'to the brāhmaṇa', 'mahātmane': 'to the great-souled/noble-minded one'}

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Brāhmaṇa
• Dharma-vyādha (the hunter)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a dharma-instruction scene: a moral question raised by a brāhmaṇa is answered by the Dharma-vyādha, highlighting that ethical insight can come from conduct and wisdom rather than social status alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya narrates to Yudhiṣṭhira that, after hearing the brāhmaṇa’s question, the hunter begins his explanation to the brāhmaṇa—setting up the forthcoming discourse on right conduct.