Shloka 8

Arjuna Honored in Indra’s Court; Lomāśa’s Audience; Indra’s Disclosure of Lineage and Mission

Book 3, Chapter 45

Devanagari script

वर्चस्वी तेजसा युक्त: क्षमावान्‌ वीतमत्सर: । साड्रोपनिषदान वेदांश्ष॒तुराख्यानपञ्चमान्‌

Transliteration

varcasvī tejasā yuktaḥ kṣamāvān vītamatsaraḥ | sa-āḍhropaniṣadān vedān caturākhyānapañcamān ||

Translation

तो वर्चस्वी, तेजाने युक्त, क्षमावान आणि मत्सररहित आहे. उपनिषदांसह वेदांचा त्याने अभ्यास केला आहे; आणि आख्यान-उपाख्यानांना पाचवे अंग मानून तो त्यांतही पारंगत आहे.

Word by Word

वर्चस्वीpossessing splendor

तेजसाby/with brilliance

युक्तःendowed (with)

क्षमावान्forbearing, patient

वीतमत्सरःfree from envy

सhe

आड्यःwealthy, eminent

उपनिषदान्Upaniṣads

वेदान्Vedas

चतुराख्यानपञ्चमान्having the Itihāsa-Purāṇa as the fifth (i.e., with the four narratives/branches and the fifth as Itihāsa)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vedas

Upaniṣads

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True excellence is not merely scholarship but scholarship grounded in character: radiance and strength (tejas) must be paired with patience/forgiveness (kṣamā) and freedom from envy (amātsarya). The verse presents an ethical ideal where learning culminates in humility and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing a person’s qualities, emphasizing both inner virtues (radiance, patience, non-envy) and comprehensive learning (knowledge of the Vedas together with Upaniṣadic and narrative traditions). The description functions as a character portrait establishing authority and moral stature.