Shloka 53

अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope

Devanagari script

विविध संहिताज्ञानं दीपयन्ति मनीषिण: । व्याख्यातुं कुशला: केचिद्‌ ग्रन्थान्‌ धारयितुं परे,विद्वान्‌ पुरुष इस भारतसंहिताके ज्ञानको विविध प्रकारसे प्रकाशित करते हैं। कोई- कोई ग्रन्थकी व्याख्या करके समझानेमें कुशल होते हैं तो दूसरे विद्वान्‌ अपनी तीक्षण मेधाशक्तिके द्वारा इन ग्रन्थोंको धारण करते हैं

Transliteration

vividha-saṃhitā-jñānaṃ dīpayanti manīṣiṇaḥ | vyākhyātuṃ kuśalāḥ kecid granthān dhārayituṃ pare ||

Translation

Мудрецы озаряют знание, заключённое в различных редакциях и сводах. Одни искусны в толковании текстов через объяснение; другие же, благодаря остроте ума и крепости памяти, хранят и поддерживают эти сочинения в себе — и тем сохраняют традицию Бхараты живой и понятной.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vividha', 'definition': 'various, manifold'}, {'term': 'saṃhitā', 'definition': 'compilation

• recension'}, {'term': 'jñāna', 'definition': 'knowledge, understanding'}, {'term': 'dīpayanti', 'definition': 'they illuminate, make clear, bring to light'}, {'term': 'manīṣiṇaḥ', 'definition': 'sages

• wise, reflective scholars'}, {'term': 'vyākhyātum', 'definition': 'to explain, to expound'}, {'term': 'kuśalāḥ', 'definition': 'skilled, proficient'}, {'term': 'kecit', 'definition': 'some (persons)'}, {'term': 'granthān', 'definition': 'texts, treatises, books'}, {'term': 'dhārayitum', 'definition': 'to hold, retain, preserve (especially in memory)'}, {'term': 'pare', 'definition': 'others'}]

Characters & Entities

• Bhārata (Mahābhārata tradition)
• manīṣiṇaḥ (scholars/sages)
• granthāḥ (texts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises two complementary scholarly roles: (1) those who clarify texts through interpretation and teaching, and (2) those who preserve the texts through strong memory and careful retention—both essential for safeguarding dharma-knowledge across generations.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of Ādi Parva, the text reflects on how the Bhārata’s vast learning is maintained and made accessible: learned people ‘illuminate’ it by explanation and by preservation, indicating the living scholarly ecosystem behind the epic’s transmission.