Shloka 21

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

Devanagari script

वेदैश्वतुर्भि: संयुक्तां व्यासस्याद्भुतकर्मण: । संहितां श्रोतुमिच्छाम: पुण्यां पापभयापहाम्‌

Transliteration

vedaiś caturbhiḥ saṃyuktāṃ vyāsasyādbhuta-karmaṇaḥ | saṃhitāṃ śrotum icchāmaḥ puṇyāṃ pāpa-bhaya-apahām ||

Translation

అద్భుతకర్ముడైన వ్యాసుడు రచించిన, నాలుగు వేదాలతో సంయుక్తమైన ఆ పుణ్యసంహితను మేము వినదలుచుకున్నాము; అది పాపమూలమైన భయాన్ని తొలగించేది.

Word by Word

वेदैःby the Vedas

चतुर्भिःwith four

संयुक्ताम्joined/combined

व्यासस्यof Vyasa

अद्भुतकर्मणःof (him) whose deeds are wondrous

संहिताम्the compilation/collection (text)

श्रोतुम्to hear

इच्छामःwe desire

पुण्याम्holy/meritorious

पापभयापहाम्removing fear of sin

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

the four Vedas

Saṃhitā (the Mahābhārata as a compendium)

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?

Reverent listening to a sacred, Veda-aligned text is presented as ethically transformative: the Mahābhārata, attributed to Vyāsa, is praised as a meritorious compendium whose reception (śravaṇa) dispels the fear and consequences associated with wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

The assembled listeners request to hear Vyāsa’s great compilation. They characterize it as a holy saṃhitā connected with the four Vedas and capable of removing pāpa-bhaya, thereby framing the ensuing recitation as both authoritative and spiritually beneficial.