Shloka 33

कर्णप्रवेशः—रङ्गे द्वन्द्वयुद्धप्रस्तावः तथा अङ्गराज्याभिषेकः

Karna’s Entry, Duel Proposal, and Consecration as King of Aṅga

Devanagari script

प्रेतकार्ये निवृत्ते तु पितृमेधं महायशा: । लभतां सर्वधर्मज्ञ: पाण्डु: कुरुकुलोद्वह:,“सपिण्डीकरणपर्यन्त प्रेतकार्य निवृत्त हो जानेपर कुरुवंशके श्रेष्ठ पुरुष महायशस्वी एवं सम्पूर्ण धर्मोके ज्ञाता पाण्डुको पितृमेध (यज्ञ)-का भी लाभ मिलना चाहिये”

Transliteration

pretakārye nivṛtte tu pitṛmedhaṃ mahāyaśāḥ | labhatāṃ sarvadharmajñaḥ pāṇḍuḥ kurukulodvahaḥ ||

Translation

సపిండీకరణ వరకు ప్రేతకార్యాలు పూర్తైన తరువాత, కురుకులశ్రేష్ఠుడు, మహాయశస్సు గలవాడు, సర్వధర్మజ్ఞుడు అయిన పాండువుకు పితృమేధ (శ్రాద్ధ-యజ్ఞ) ఫలమూ లభించాలి.

Word by Word

प्रेतकार्येin/with regard to the funerary rites

निवृत्तेhaving ceased/being completed

तुbut/indeed

पितृमेधम्the pitṛmedha rite (funeral/ancestral sacrifice)

महायशाःthe greatly renowned one

लभताम्let (him) obtain/receive

सर्वधर्मज्ञःknower of all dharmas

पाण्डुःPāṇḍu

कुरुकुलोद्वहःthe foremost of the Kuru lineage

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pāṇḍu

Kuru lineage (Kuru-kula)

pitṛmedha

preta-kārya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not limited to immediate funeral rites; it includes completing the prescribed post-death sequence so that the deceased receives due ancestral honor and the family fulfills its obligations to the Pitṛs.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the completion of the preta-kārya (departed-related rites), the text states that Pāṇḍu should also receive the benefit of the pitṛmedha—an ancestral rite—emphasizing proper ritual completion for a Kuru elder.