Shloka 23

Devanagari script

पिता च त्वा55ह कौन्तेय पाण्डु: कौरवनन्दन । हरिश्वन्द्रे श्रियं दृष्टया नृपती जातविस्मय:,कौरवनन्दन कुन्तीकुमार! तुम्हारे पिता पाण्डुने राजा हरिश्वन्द्रकी सम्पत्ति देखकर अत्यन्त चकित हो तुमसे कहनेके लिये संदेश दिया है

Transliteration

pitā ca tvāha kaunteya pāṇḍuḥ kauravanandana | hariścandre śriyaṃ dṛṣṭvā nṛpatir jātavismayaḥ ||

Translation

ഹേ കൗന്തേയ, കൗരവനന്ദന! നിന്റെ പിതാവായ രാജാവ് പാണ്ഡു, രാജാ ഹരിശ്ചന്ദ്രന്റെ സമൃദ്ധി കണ്ടു അത്യന്തം വിസ്മയിച്ച് നിന്നോട് പറയുവാൻ സന്ദേശം അയച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

पिताfather

चand

त्वाyou (object)

अहindeed / ah (particle)

कौन्तेयO son of Kuntī

पाण्डुःPāṇḍu

कौरवनन्दनO delight of the Kaurus

हरिश्वन्द्रेin/with regard to Hariścandra

श्रियम्prosperity, wealth, splendor

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

नृपतिःthe king

जातविस्मयःhaving become astonished

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Pāṇḍu

Hariścandra

Kaunteya (Kuntī’s son)

Kauravanandana (Kuru descendant)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames royal prosperity (śrī) as something that can inspire reflection and instruction: even a king like Pāṇḍu is moved to wonder on seeing Hariścandra’s fortune, implying that exemplary rulers and their fortunes become occasions to discuss dharma, right conduct, and the responsibilities of lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada reports that Pāṇḍu, after witnessing the prosperity associated with King Hariścandra, became astonished and sent a message intended for his son (addressed as Kaunteya/Kauravanandana), setting up a subsequent communication or counsel.