Shloka 8

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

पठतस्तान् समालोक्य मुखदोषविवर्जितान् ।

सोऽथ शोकेन हर्षेण सर्वानेवाभ्यभाषत ॥

Transliteration

paṭhatastān samālokya mukhadoṣavivarjitān / so 'tha śokena harṣeṇa sarvānevābhyabhāṣata

Translation

వారు పఠిస్తున్నట్లు చూసి, వారి ముఖంలో దోషాలు లేవని గమనించి, అతడు శోకమూ హర్షమూ రెండింటితో కదిలి, అప్పుడు వారందరినీ ఉద్దేశించి పలికాడు।

Word by Word

• paṭhataḥ: (of) the reciting ones / while they were reciting
• paṭhataḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √paṭh (धातु)
• Form: वर्तमान-कृदन्त (शतृ) from √paṭh: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/पञ्चमी एकवचन; here used as षष्ठी बहुवचनार्थे? (genitive singular form 'of one reading'); in context: 'of those who were reciting' (classical usage)

• tān: them
• tān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन; सर्वनाम (masculine, accusative plural)

• samālokya: having observed
• samālokya: Purvakala (पूर्वकाल)
• Type: Verb
• Root: sam+ā+√lok (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (gerund): 'having looked at/observed'

• mukha-doṣa-vivarjitān: free from defects of pronunciation
• mukha-doṣa-vivarjitān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + doṣa (प्रातिपदिक) + vivarjita (कृदन्त; vi+√vṛj/√varj वर्ज् 'to avoid')
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषणम्; 'devoid of faults of the mouth (pronunciation)'

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचन; सर्वनाम (masculine, nominative singular)

• atha: then
• atha: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: atha (अव्यय)
• Form: अनन्तरार्थक-अव्यय (particle: 'then/thereupon')

• śokena: with sorrow
• śokena: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śoka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचन (masculine, instrumental singular)

• harṣeṇa: with joy
• harṣeṇa: Hetu (हेतु)
• Type: Noun
• Root: harṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचन (masculine, instrumental singular)

• sarvān: all (of them)
• sarvān: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन; सर्वनामसदृश-विशेषण (masculine, accusative plural; 'all')

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्यय (emphasis)

• abhyabhāṣata: addressed/spoke to
• abhyabhāṣata: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: abhi+√bhāṣ (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (अनद्यतनभूत/Imperfect), आत्मनेपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन (imperfect, 3rd sg., Ātmanepada)

Speakers

• Narrative voice (unspecified in the provided excerpt) describing 'he' addressing 'them'

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "bhakti", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dialogue frame
• Auspicious signs (freedom from defects)
• Mixed emotions (śoka and harṣa)
• Commencement of address/teaching

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse highlights attentive discernment before instruction: the speaker observes the listeners/reciters and notes auspicious completeness (freedom from defects), then speaks. Ethically, it suggests that teaching and counsel are best offered after careful assessment of readiness and propriety, and that genuine encounters can evoke complex, simultaneous emotions (grief and joy) without contradiction.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse functions primarily as narrative framing and does not directly present one of the five hallmark topics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It is best classified as ancillary dialogue-setting that supports later puranic exposition.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Defect-free face’ can be read symbolically as purity of expression and receptivity: mukha (mouth/face) represents speech and the organ of recitation. Observing mukha-doṣa-vivarjita implies a fit vessel for mantra/śruti-like transmission. The pairing of śoka and harṣa suggests the liminal moment before revelation—where prior limitation is mourned and impending insight is welcomed.