Shloka 12
Rāmopākhyāna—Rāma–Sītā Origins and the Opening of Rāvaṇa’s Genealogy
सत्यमेतत् त्वयोक्तं हि पाण्डवेषु दुरात्मसु । निहतेषु नरश्रेष्ठ प्राप्ते चापि महाक्रतौ
satyam etat tvayoktaṃ hi pāṇḍaveṣu durātmasu | nihateṣu naraśreṣṭha prāpte cāpi mahākratau ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ദുരാത്മാക്കളായ പാണ്ഡവരെക്കുറിച്ച് നീ പറഞ്ഞത് സത്യമാണ്. ആ നരശ്രേഷ്ഠർ ഹതരാകുമ്പോഴും മഹാക്രതുവും തന്റെ നിയതാന്ത്യത്തെ പ്രാപിക്കുമ്പോഴും.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores satya (truthfulness) as a moral anchor: the narrator affirms that a prior statement is true and frames events—slaying of eminent men and the culmination of a great rite—as conditions that bring about consequential outcomes. It highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical emphasis that actions, especially violent ones, and major ritual undertakings are not isolated; they carry moral and narrative consequences.
Vaiśampāyana, as the narrator, confirms the truth of what has just been said about the Pāṇḍavas and refers to a situation in which great men have been killed and a major sacrificial rite has reached its critical stage or completion. The line functions as a connective narration, validating the preceding claim and setting up the next development tied to these conditions.