Shloka 19

Devanagari script

तानागतानमभिप्रेक्ष्य मत्स्यो धर्मभूतां वर: । पूजयामास विधिवत्‌ सभृत्यबलवाहनान्‌,धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ मत्स्यनरेश विराटने उन्हें आया हुआ देख सेवक, सेना और सवारियोंसहित उन सबका विधिपूर्वक स्वागत-सत्कार किया

Transliteration

tān āgatān abhiprekṣya matsyo dharmabhūtāṁ varaḥ | pūjayāmāsa vidhivat sabhṛtyabalavāhanān ||

Translation

അവർ എത്തിയതു കണ്ടു ധർമ്മാത്മാക്കളിൽ ശ്രേഷ്ഠനായ മത്സ്യരാജാവ് വിരാടൻ, സേവകരും സൈന്യവും വാഹനങ്ങളും സഹിതം എല്ലാവരെയും ധർമ്മാനുസൃതമായി വിധിപൂർവ്വം സ്വീകരിച്ചു ആദരിച്ചു.

Word by Word

तान्them

आगतान्arrived

अभिप्रेक्ष्यhaving seen

मत्स्यःthe Matsya king (Virata)

धर्मभूतान्righteous / virtuous

वरःexcellent, best

पूजयामासhonoured / received

विधिवत्according to proper rite

सभृत्यबलवाहनान्together with servants, troops, and vehicles/mounts

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Matsya (kingdom/people)

Virāṭa (Matsya king)

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?

A righteous king upholds dharma through proper hospitality: honoring arrivals respectfully and according to established norms, including care for their attendants, forces, and conveyances.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that King Virāṭa, seeing the visitors arrive, formally welcomes and honors them in a duly prescribed manner, extending respect to their entire retinue.