Shloka 13

मधुकैटभवधोपाख्यानम्

The Account of the Slaying of Madhu and Kaiṭabha

Devanagari script

तत्र रम्ये शिवे देशे बहुवृक्षसमाकुले । पूर्वस्यां दिशि रम्यायां समुद्राभ्याशतो नूप

Transliteration

tatra ramye śive deśe bahuvṛkṣasamākule | pūrvasyāṃ diśi ramyāyāṃ samudrābhyāśato nūpa

Translation

അവിടെ ആ രമ്യവും ശുഭവും ആയ ദേശത്ത്, അനേകം വൃക്ഷങ്ങളാൽ സമാകുലമായിടത്ത്, കിഴക്കുദിക്കിലെ മനോഹര ഭാഗത്ത്, സമുദ്രസമീപത്ത്—(കഥ പിന്നീട് ആ സ്ഥലത്തെ കൃത്യമായി നിർദ്ദേശിക്കുന്നു)।

Word by Word

तत्रthere

रम्येin a lovely (place)

शिवेin an auspicious (place)

देशेin the region/place

बहुवृक्षसमाकुलेcrowded with many trees

पूर्वस्याम्in the eastern

दिशिdirection

रम्यायाम्in the lovely (one)

समुद्राभ्याशतःnear the sea

नूपNūpa (proper name) / (text appears truncated)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

deśa (region)

pūrvā diś (eastern quarter)

samudra (ocean/sea)

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 primarily establishes an auspicious, serene setting. In Mahābhārata narrative ethics, such descriptions often signal that the forthcoming actions or encounters are to be understood against a backdrop of purity, restraint, and attentiveness to dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the location: a beautiful, auspicious, tree-filled region, specifically toward the east and near the ocean. The line appears to be mid-description and continues into the next segment in the text.