Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 42

Indratīrtha–Ādityatīrtha: Balarāma’s Ritual Bathing, Dāna, and Sacred-Historical Recollections

Devanagari script

दिव्या मनोरमा: पुण्या: कथा: शुआव सा तदा । अतीता सा त्वनावृष्टिर्घोरा द्वादशवार्षिकी

Transliteration

divyā manoramāḥ puṇyāḥ kathāḥ śuśrāva sā tadā | atītā sā tv anāvṛṣṭir ghorā dvādaśavārṣikī ||

Translation

ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಅವಳು ದಿವ್ಯ, ಮನೋಹರ, ಪುಣ್ಯಕರ ಕಥೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದಳು. ಇಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲೇ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಮುಂದುವರಿದ ಭೀಕರ ಅನಾವೃಷ್ಟಿ ಅಂತ್ಯವಾಯಿತು. ಅತಿದಾರುಣವಾದ ಆ ಕಾಲವು ಅವಳಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ದಿನದಂತೆ ಕಳೆಯಿತು.

Word by Word

• {'divyāḥ': 'divine, heavenly', 'manoramāḥ': 'charming, pleasing to the mind', 'puṇyāḥ': 'holy, meritorious, purifying', 'kathāḥ': 'stories, narratives (often with moral/religious import)', 'śuśrāva': "she heard (perfect of √śru, 'to hear')", 'sā': 'she', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'atītā': 'passed, elapsed, gone by', 'anāvṛṣṭiḥ': 'drought, absence of rain', 'ghorā': 'terrible, dreadful', 'dvādaśavārṣikī': 'lasting twelve years'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• अनावृष्टि (drought)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the sustaining and purifying force of śravaṇa—listening to sacred, auspicious narratives—which helps one endure prolonged hardship with steadiness; even severe suffering can feel shortened when borne with inner support and faith.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that a woman hears holy, delightful, divine stories, and during this period the terrible twelve-year drought passes and finally ends, with the time of distress seeming to pass swiftly.