Shloka 14

मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ प्रयाते दुर्धर्षे देवि शब्दों महान भूत्‌ । एष श्रीमानवध्योउ्द्य धुन्धुमारो भविष्यति,उन दुर्धर्षवीर कुवलाश्वके यात्रा करनेपर देवलोकमें अत्यन्त हर्षपूर्ण कोलाहल होने लगा। देवता कहने लगे--'ये श्रीमान्‌ नरेश अवध्य हैं, आज धुन्धुको मारकर ये” “धुन्धुमार' नाम धारण करेंगे

Transliteration

tasmin prayāte durdharṣe devi śabdo mahān abhūt | eṣa śrīmān avadhyo ’dya dhundhumāro bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

ഹേ ദേവീ, ആ ദുര്ധർഷനായ വീരൻ പുറപ്പെട്ടപ്പോൾ ദേവലോകത്തിൽ മഹാ ഹർഷഘോഷം ഉയർന്നു. ദേവന്മാർ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഈ ശ്രീമാനായ രാജാവ് ഇന്ന് അവധ്യൻ; ധുന്ധുവിനെ വധിച്ച് ‘ധുന്ധുമാരൻ’ എന്ന നാമം ധരിക്കും।”

Word by Word

• {'tasmin': 'in that (situation/time)

• when he', 'prayāte': 'having set out

• when (he) departed/advanced', 'durdharṣe': 'hard to assail

• formidable', 'devi': 'O Goddess (address)', 'śabdaḥ': 'sound

• proclamation', 'mahān': 'great

• mighty', 'abhūt': 'arose

• occurred', 'eṣaḥ': 'this (person)', 'śrīmān': 'illustrious

• endowed with splendor/fortune', 'avadhyaḥ': 'not to be slain

• invincible', 'adya': 'today', 'dhundhumāraḥ': '‘slayer of Dhundhu’ (epithet/name)', 'bhaviṣyati': 'will become

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Devī
• Devas
• Dhundhu
• Dhundhumāra
• Kuvalāśva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharmic courage—acting decisively to remove a threat to the world—is affirmed by divine approval; a righteous deed can define one’s lasting reputation, here expressed through the epithet ‘Dhundhumāra’ (slayer of Dhundhu).

What is happening in the narrative?

As the formidable hero-king (Kuvalāśva) sets out to confront Dhundhu, the gods rejoice and proclaim that he is invincible and will gain the name ‘Dhundhumāra’ after killing Dhundhu.