Mahabharata 1.143.2 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 143, Shloka 2

Hiḍimbā’s Petition, Conditional Union with Bhīma, and the Birth-Naming of Ghaṭotkaca (आदि पर्व, अध्याय १४३)

Devanagari script

धृतराष्ट्रप्रयुक्तास्ते केचित्‌ कुशलमन्त्रिण: । कथयांचक्रिरे रम्यं नगरं वारणावतम्‌

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭraprayuktās te kecit kuśala-mantriṇaḥ | kathayāṃ cakrire ramyaṃ nagaraṃ vāraṇāvatam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Menurut arahan Dhṛtarāṣṭra, beberapa menteri yang mahir mula menyebarkan khabar ke segenap penjuru, memuji Vāraṇāvata sebagai kota yang indah dan menyenangkan. Dalam konteks kisah, pujian umum itu berfungsi sebagai helah yang dirancang—suatu penggunaan nasihat dan propaganda yang meragukan dari segi dharma, berselindung di balik kesalehan dan kekaguman terhadap kota.

Word by Word

• धृतराष्ट्रप्रयुक्ताः: sent/commissioned by Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रप्रयुक्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र-प्रयुक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क-चित्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कुशलमन्त्रिणः: skilled ministers/counsellors
• कुशलमन्त्रिणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुशल-मन्त्रिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• कथयाम्: talk/report (as object: 'the report')
• कथयाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• चक्रिरे: they made / they spread (the talk)
• चक्रिरे: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• रम्यम्: beautiful, charming
• रम्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• नगरम्: city
• नगरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नगर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वारणावतम्: Vāraṇāvata (name of the city)
• वारणावतम्: Karma
• Type: ProperNoun
• Root: वारणावत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• ministers/counsellors (mantriṇaḥ)
• Vāraṇāvata

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how power can manipulate public opinion through seemingly harmless praise. Ethically, it warns that counsel (mantra) divorced from dharma becomes an instrument of deception—especially when authority uses ministers to manufacture consent for hidden aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

Under Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s prompting, some capable ministers begin circulating favorable talk about the city of Vāraṇāvata. This sets the stage for directing others toward that place under an attractive public narrative.