Shloka 6

Devanagari script

नारद उवाच केकयाधिपति: श्रीमान्‌ राजा55सीदकुतो भय: । सहस्नचित्य इत्युक्त: शतयूपपितामह:,नारदजी बोले--राजन्‌! पूर्वकालमें सहस्नचित्य नामसे प्रसिद्ध एक तेजस्वी राजा थे, जो केकयदेशकी प्रजाका पालन करते थे। उन्हें कभी किसीसे भय नहीं होता था। यहाँ जो ये राजर्षि शतयूप विराज रहे हैं, इनके वे पितामह थे

Transliteration

nārada uvāca kekayādhipatiḥ śrīmān rājā sahasracitya ity uktaḥ kuto bhayaḥ | śatayūpapitāmahaḥ ||

Translation

ನಾರದನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ರಾಜನೇ! ಪೂರ್ವಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಕಯದ ಅಧಿಪತಿಯಾಗಿ ‘ಸಹಸ್ರಚಿತ್ಯ’ ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧನಾದ ಒಬ್ಬ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ರಾಜನಿದ್ದನು; ಅವನಿಗೆ ಯಾವ ಭಯವೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸೀನನಾಗಿರುವ ಈ ರಾಜರ್ಷಿ ಶತಯೂಪನಿಗೆ ಅವನೇ ಪಿತಾಮಹನು.

Word by Word

नारदःNarada

उवाचsaid/spoke

केकयाधिपतिःthe lord/king of Kekaya

श्रीमान्prosperous, illustrious

राजाking

असीत्was

कुतःwhence? how (could there be)?

भयःfear

सहस्नचित्यःSahasnacitya (proper name)

इतिthus, as

उक्तःcalled, said (to be)

शतयूपपितामहःthe grandfather of Shatayupa

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Sahasracitya

Śatayūpa

Kekaya (Kekaya-deśa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ideal of kṣatriya-kingship: a ruler grounded in dharma and strength is portrayed as ‘fearless’, and noble lineage is invoked to frame present characters within a tradition of virtue and merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada introduces a past exemplar-king, Sahasracitya of Kekaya, and identifies him as the grandfather of the royal sage Śatayūpa, thereby linking the current discussion to an ancestral model of righteous rule.