Adi Parva Adhyaya 63 Shloka 1 - Mahabharata | Kannada | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 1

Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ

King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt

Devanagari script

(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठके ११३ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ६४ ३ “लोक हैं) जा >> हु नाग त्रेषष्टितमोड्ध्याय: राजा उपरिचरका चरित्र तथा सत्यवती

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca—rājoparicaro nāma dharmanityo mahīpatiḥ | babhūva mṛgayāṃ gantuṃ sadā kila dhṛtavrataḥ ||

Translation

ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಜನಮೇಜಯಾ! ಉಪರಿಚರನೆಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನ ಒಬ್ಬ ರಾಜನು ಇದ್ದನು; ಅವನು ನಿತ್ಯ ಧರ್ಮನಿಷ್ಠನಾಗಿದ್ದನು. ಆದರೆ ಮೃಗಯೆ (ಬೇಟೆ)ಗೆ ಸದಾ ಹೋಗುವುದು ಅವನ ದೃಢವ್ರತವೆಂದು ಹೇಳಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತದೆ।

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

राजाking

उपरिचरःUparicara (name of a king)

नामby name / called

धर्मनित्यःever devoted to dharma

महीपतिःlord of the earth (ruler)

बभूवbecame / was

मृगयाम्hunting / chase

गन्तुम्to go

सदाalways

किलindeed / it is said

धृतव्रतःone who has undertaken a vow / firm in vows

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Uparicara (king)

Janamejaya (implied addressee in the prose gloss)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse juxtaposes devotion to dharma with a firm commitment to hunting, inviting ethical inquiry into how a ruler’s personal habits—especially those involving harm—align (or conflict) with righteousness and self-restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana begins a new episode by introducing King Uparicara: a dharma-oriented sovereign who nevertheless regularly goes to the hunt, preparing the ground for the subsequent account of his life and its consequences.