Shloka 16

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 53: Arjuna’s Jayadratha-vadha Pratijñā and Droṇa’s Protective Vyūha (शकटा-पद्म व्यूहः)

Devanagari script

ततोअग्निमुपसंहत्य भगवॉललोकसत्कृत: । प्रवृत्त च निवृत्तं च कथयामास वै प्रभु:,तब विश्ववन्दित भगवान्‌ ब्रह्माने उस अग्निका उपसंहार करके मनुष्योंके लिये प्रवृत्ति (कर्म) और निवृत्ति (ज्ञान) मार्गोंका उपदेश दिया

Transliteration

tato 'gnim upasaṁhatya bhagavān lokasatkṛtaḥ | pravṛttaṁ ca nivṛttaṁ ca kathayāmāsa vai prabhuḥ ||

Translation

ಆಮೇಲೆ ಲೋಕಸತ್ಕೃತನಾದ ಭಗವಾನ್ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮನು ಆ ಅಗ್ನಿಯನ್ನು ಉಪಸಂಹರಿಸಿದನು. ನಂತರ ಪ್ರಭು-ಆಚಾರ್ಯನು ಮಾನವರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿ (ಧರ್ಮಯುಕ್ತ ಕರ್ಮ) ಮತ್ತು ನಿವೃತ್ತಿ (ವೈರಾಗ್ಯಜನ್ಯ ಜ್ಞಾನ) ಎಂಬ ಎರಡೂ ಮಾರ್ಗಗಳನ್ನು ಉಪದೇಶಿಸಿದನು.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

अग्निम्fire

उपसंहत्यhaving withdrawn/ended (it), having concluded

भगवान्the Blessed Lord

लोकसत्कृतःhonoured by the world

प्रवृत्तम्the path of activity (pravṛtti)

चand

निवृत्तम्the path of withdrawal/renunciation (nivṛtti)

चand

कथयामासtold, expounded

वैindeed, surely

प्रभुःthe Lord, the master

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Bhagavān (the Blessed Lord)

Agni (sacrificial fire)

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 a twofold ethical-spiritual framework: pravṛtti (right engagement in duties and action) and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation culminating in liberating knowledge). It implies that both are legitimate disciplines when aligned with dharma and taught by a competent authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada reports that after concluding the fire-rite (bringing the sacrificial fire to its formal close), the revered Lord addresses people and instructs them on the two complementary ways of life—active duty and renunciant knowledge.