Shloka 24

Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā

Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest

Devanagari script

भवानस्मन्नियोगेन यातु तावन्‍्महीतलम्‌ | काम्यके द्र॒क्ष्यसे वीर॑ं निवसन्तं युधिष्ठिरम्‌,“मुने! आप मेरे अनुरोधसे कृपया भूलोकमें जाइये और काम्यकवनमें निवास करनेवाले युधिष्ठिससे मिलिये

Transliteration

bhavān asmanni-yogena yātu tāvan mahītalam | kāmyake drakṣyase vīraṁ nivasantaṁ yudhiṣṭhiram ||

Translation

వైశంపాయనుడు పలికెను— నా అభ్యర్థనచేత మీరు కొంతకాలం భూలోకానికి వెళ్లండి. అక్కడ కామ్యక వనంలో నివసిస్తున్న వీర యుధిష్ఠిరుని మీరు దర్శిస్తారు.

Word by Word

भवान्you (honored sir)

अस्मत्of me / my

नियोगेनby (my) request/command

यातुlet (him/you) go

तावत्for the time being / then

महीतलम्the earth’s surface / the earth

काम्यकेin (the) Kāmyaka (forest)

द्रक्ष्यसेyou will see / meet

वीरम्the hero

निवसन्तम्dwelling / residing

युधिष्ठिरम्Yudhiṣṭhira

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Mahītala (earth)

Kāmyaka forest

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

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 foregrounds disciplined responsiveness to a rightful request: a respected speaker directs a sage-like listener to undertake a purposeful journey. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical emphasis on carrying out one’s assigned duty (niyoga) in service of a larger moral narrative.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana instructs the addressed person (a muni/sage in the surrounding context) to go to the human world and meet Yudhiṣṭhira, who is residing in the Kāmyaka forest during the Pāṇḍavas’ exile. The line functions as a narrative cue that shifts attention toward Yudhiṣṭhira’s situation in the forest.