Shloka 6

Kṛṣṇa–Arjuna Saṃvāda in Indraprastha: Consolation, Legitimation, and Leave for Dvārakā (आश्वमेधिकपर्व, अध्याय १५)

Devanagari script

तत्र युद्धकथाश्रित्रा: परिक्लेशांश्व पार्थिव । कथायोगे कथायोगे कथयामासतु: सदा

Transliteration

tatra yuddhakathāśritrāḥ parikleśāṃś ca pārthiva | kathāyoge kathāyoge kathayāmāsatuḥ sadā pṛthvīnātha ||

Translation

Там, о царь, они беспрестанно говорили — снова и снова, как только разговор к тому возвращался, — о многих тяготах, связанных с повествованиями о войне. В дружеской беседе они также пересказывали родословия богов и риши и описывали странные и многообразные эпизоды битв и их страдания, являя слушателю и величие древней традиции, и нравственную тяжесть насилия.

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• युद्धकथाश्रिताः: engaged in/attached to war-stories
• युद्धकथाश्रिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युद्धकथा-आश्रित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परिक्लेशान्: hardships, afflictions
• परिक्लेशान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिक्लेश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्थिव: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कथायोगे: in the course/context of conversation
• कथायोगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा-योग
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• कथायोगे: again and again in conversation
• कथायोगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कथा-योग
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• कथयामासतुः: they two used to narrate/tell
• Type: Verb
• Root: कथय्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Dual, Parasmaipada

• सदा: always
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सदा

• पृथ्वीनाथ: O lord of the earth (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथ्वी-नाथ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pārthiva (the king addressed)
• Pṛthvīnātha (the king addressed)
• Devatāḥ (gods)
• Ṛṣayaḥ (seers)
• Yuddha (war/battle)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war by foregrounding its ‘parikleśa’ (hardships) even when war is discussed as narrative. It suggests that remembering lineage and tradition should be accompanied by sober recollection of violence’s costs, not mere glorification.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana tells the king that, in that setting, two companions repeatedly engaged in conversation, often turning to accounts of war—its unusual episodes and the sufferings it brings—alongside discussions of the genealogies of gods and sages.