Shloka 13

Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 106: Pūrva-Diśa Praśaṃsā

Praise and Primacy of the Eastern Quarter

Devanagari script

सो हं प्राणान्‌ विमोक्ष्यामि कृत्वा यत्नमनुत्तमम्‌ | अर्थिता न मया काचित्‌ कृतपूर्वा दिवौकसाम्‌ | मानयन्ति च मां सर्वे त्रिदशा यज्ञसंस्तरे

Transliteration

so 'haṃ prāṇān vimokṣyāmi kṛtvā yatnam anuttamam | arthitā na mayā kācit kṛtapūrvā divaukasām | mānayanti ca māṃ sarve tridaśā yajñasaṃstare ||

Translation

ナーラダは言った。「ゆえに、最上の努力を尽くしたのち、私はこの命さえ捨てよう。これまで一度として神々に何かを乞うたことはない。しかも供犠の聖なる場において、あらゆる神々は私を敬っている。」

Word by Word

• [{'term': "so 'ham", 'definition': 'I indeed

• I myself (emphatic self-reference)'}, {'term': 'prāṇān', 'definition': 'life-breaths

• life itself'}, {'term': 'vimokṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I shall release/abandon

• I shall give up (here: give up life)'}, {'term': 'kṛtvā', 'definition': 'having done

• having made'}, {'term': 'yatnam', 'definition': 'effort

• endeavor'}, {'term': 'anuttamam', 'definition': 'unsurpassed

• utmost'}, {'term': 'arthitā', 'definition': 'a request

• petition (something asked for)'}, {'term': 'na mayā', 'definition': 'not by me

• I have not'}, {'term': 'kācit', 'definition': 'any (even a single one)'}, {'term': 'kṛtapūrvā', 'definition': 'done previously

• made before'}, {'term': 'divaukasām', 'definition': 'of the dwellers in heaven

• of the gods'}, {'term': 'mānayanti', 'definition': 'they honor

• they treat with reverence'}, {'term': 'sarve', 'definition': 'all'}, {'term': 'tridaśāḥ', 'definition': 'the thirty (gods)

• deities (a common epithet for the gods)'}, {'term': 'yajñasaṃstare', 'definition': 'on the sacrificial ground/altar-spread

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• divaukas (the gods)
• tridaśa (the deities)
• yajña-saṃstara (sacrificial ground/altar)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights integrity and moral resolve: one who has maintained dignity and independence (never begging even from the gods) may still be driven to extreme self-sacrifice when duty or honor demands the utmost effort. It also underscores that true honor is earned through character and is recognized even in divine assemblies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada speaks in a tone of intense determination. He declares that he will make an unsurpassed effort and, if necessary, relinquish his life. He emphasizes that he has never previously petitioned the gods, even though the deities honor him in the sacrificial arena—suggesting that the present situation is extraordinary and compels him to a drastic resolve.