Shloka 21

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच ततो विराटो नृपति: सम्प्रहृष्टतनुरुह:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! अपने अमित-पराक्रमी कुमारकी विजयका समाचार सुनकर राजा विराट बड़े प्रसन्न हुए। उनके शरीरमें रोमांच हो आया। उन्होंने वस्त्र और आशभूषणोंसे उन दूतोंका सत्कार किया और मन्त्रीको आज्ञा दी--

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca | tato virāṭo nṛpatiḥ samprahṛṣṭa-tanūruhaḥ | janamejaya! svasyāmita-parākramiṇaḥ kumārasya vijaya-samācāraṃ śrutvā sa mahān prahṛṣṭo ’bhavat | tasya gātreṣu romāñco ’bhavat | sa dūtān vastrābharaṇaiḥ satkṛtvā mantriṇaṃ samādiśat |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Maka Raja Virāṭa, penguasa manusia, berasa amat gembira hingga bulu romanya berdiri, tatkala mendengar khabar kemenangan yang diraih oleh puteranya yang berkeperkasaan tiada terukur. Dikuasai sukacita, baginda memuliakan para utusan itu dengan menghadiahkan pakaian dan perhiasan, lalu mengeluarkan titah kepada menterinya—menunjukkan bahawa seorang raja, apabila menerima berita baik, wajar menyambutnya dengan syukur, kemurahan hati, dan tata pemerintahan yang teratur, bukan dengan pesta yang melampaui batas.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

ततःthen; thereafter

विराटःVirata

नृपतिःking

सम्प्रहृष्ट-तनुरुहःwhose body-hairs were thrilled (with joy); having horripilation

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Janamejaya

Virāṭa

Virāṭa's son (kumāra)

messengers (dūtāḥ)

minister (mantrī)

garments (vastrāṇi)

ornaments (ābharaṇāni)

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 ruler should respond to success with disciplined joy: acknowledge merit, reward loyal service (the messengers), and immediately translate good news into orderly administrative action through trusted ministers.

What is happening in the narrative?

After hearing that his son has achieved victory, King Virāṭa becomes ecstatic (hairs standing on end), honors the messengers with gifts, and then commands his minister—preparing the court’s next steps in response to the victory report.