Shloka 14

धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्

Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement

Devanagari script

दिव्यानां सर्वमाल्यानां गन्ध: पुण्यो5थ सर्वशः । प्रससार वसन्ताग्रे वनानामिव भारत

Transliteration

divyānāṁ sarvamālyānāṁ gandhaḥ puṇyo ’tha sarvaśaḥ | prasasāra vasantāgre vanānām iva bhārata ||

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच— दिव्यानां सर्वमाल्यानां गन्धः पुण्यस्ततोऽनघ। प्रससार सर्वतः शुद्धो वसन्ताग्रे वनानामिव॥

Word by Word

दिव्यानाम्of divine

सर्वमाल्यानाम्of all garlands

गन्धःfragrance

पुण्यःpure, auspicious

अथthen, and

सर्वशःeverywhere, in all ways

प्रससारspread forth

वसन्ताग्रेat the beginning of spring

वनानाम्of forests

इवlike, as

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (Janamejaya)

divine garlands (mālya)

forests (vana)

spring (vasanta)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Auspiciousness and purity are conveyed through sensory imagery: the spreading fragrance symbolizes a wholesome, elevating influence that pervades the surroundings, implying favorable conditions and a sanctified moment within the narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes how the scent of divine garlands diffuses in all directions, compared to the way forests become fragrant at the onset of spring, setting an auspicious tone for the events being recounted.