Shloka 51

Kubera’s Fivefold Nīti and Protection of the Pāṇḍavas (वैश्रवणोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

पारिजातान्‌ कोविदारान्‌ देवदारुद्रुमांस्तथा | शालांस्तालांस्तमालांश्व पिप्पलान्‌ हिड्डुकांस्तथा

Transliteration

pārijātān kovidārān devadārudrumāṃs tathā | śālāṃs tālāṃs tamālāṃś ca pippalān hiḍḍukāṃs tathā

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను—వారు పారిజాత, కోవిదార, దేవదారు వృక్షాలను చూచిరి; అలాగే శాల, తాల, తమాల, పిప్పల, హిడ్డుక వృక్షాలు కూడా చూచిరి।

Word by Word

पारिजातान्parijāta trees

कोविदारान्kovidāra trees

देवदारुद्रुमान्deodar trees (devadāru trees)

तथाand also; likewise

शालान्śāla trees

तालान्tāla (palm) trees

तमालान्tamāla trees

चand

पिप्पलान्pippala (aśvattha) trees

हिड्डुकान्hiḍḍuka trees (a kind of tree)

तथाand also; likewise

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

pārijāta tree

kovidāra tree

devadāru (deodar) tree

śāla tree

tāla (palmyra) tree

tamāla tree

pippala (sacred fig) tree

hiḍḍukā tree

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical atmosphere of exile by grounding the narrative in the forest world—suggesting simplicity, endurance, and attentiveness to one’s surroundings as part of life in hardship.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator lists prominent trees encountered/seen in the forest. This kind of catalogue typically marks a journey or a depiction of a hermitage/woodland region, enriching the scene-setting in the Vana Parva.