Shloka 40

Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)

Devanagari script

तथा तव महाप्राज्ञे धर्मे प्रणिहिता मति: । तस्मादहं त्वन्नियोगाद्‌ धर्ममुद्दिश्य कारणम्‌

Transliteration

tathā tava mahāprājñe dharme praṇihitā matiḥ | tasmād ahaṃ tvanniyogād dharmam uddiśya kāraṇam

Translation

“మహాప్రాజ్ఞా! నీ మతి ధర్మంలో దృఢంగా నిలిచింది. కనుక నీ ఆజ్ఞ ప్రకారం, ధర్మాన్నే లక్ష్యంగా చేసుకొని, కారణాన్ని నేను వివరిస్తాను.”

Word by Word

तथाthus, so

तवof you/your

महाप्राज्ञेin (you,) the very wise one

धर्मेin dharma/righteousness

प्रणिहिताplaced, fixed, directed

मतिḥmind, intention

तस्मात्therefore, from that

अहम्I

त्वत्from you

नियोगात्from the command/appointment

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness

उद्दिश्यhaving aimed at, intending

कारणम्cause, reason, purpose

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

mahāprājña (addressee, unspecified in this verse)

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes that true wisdom is shown by a mind firmly grounded in dharma, and that explanations or actions should be undertaken with dharma as the explicit aim, even when responding to another’s request.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa addresses a highly wise interlocutor, acknowledges that the person’s intent is rooted in dharma, and then agrees to explain the underlying cause/reason, doing so under that person’s instruction and with dharma as the guiding framework.