Shloka 20

स्कन्दोपाख्यानम् — उत्पातशान्तिः, स्वाहारूपविचारः, कौमारमङ्गलक्रियाः

Devanagari script

उपाहारानाहरन्तो देवतानां यथा द्विजा: । कुर्वन्ति तद्धदेताभ्यां करोम्पहमतन्द्रित:,द्विजलोग देवताओंके लिये जैसे नाना प्रकारके उपहार समर्पण करते हैं, उसी प्रकार मैं इनके लिये करता हूँ। इनकी सेवामें मुझे आलस्य नहीं होता

Transliteration

upāhārān āharanto devatānāṁ yathā dvijāḥ | kurvanti tad dhad etābhyāṁ karomy aham atandritaḥ ||

Translation

Охотник сказал: «Как брахманы приносят богам и подносят им разнообразные дары, так поступаю и я с этими двумя. Служа им, я не бываю ни нерадив, ни ленив».

Word by Word

उपाहारान्offerings, gifts

आहरन्तःbringing, offering

देवतानाम्of/for the deities

यथाas, just as

द्विजाःbrahmins (twice-born)

कुर्वन्तिthey do, they perform

तत्that (same thing)

ददI give

एताभ्याम्to these two

करोमिI do, I perform

अहम्I

अतन्द्रितःunwearied, without laziness

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

व्याध (the hunter)

द

द्विज (Brahmins / twice-born)

द

देवता (the gods/deities)

ए

एतौ (these two—unnamed in this verse)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True dharma can be expressed through steady, sincere service: the speaker equates his attentive care for “these two” with the reverent offering of gifts to the gods, emphasizing devotion expressed as duty without laziness.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Vana Parva’s dialogue associated with the hunter (Vyādha), he explains his practice of bringing offerings and serving “these two” with constant diligence, comparing his conduct to how Brahmins make offerings to deities.