Shloka 17

कुरुवंशप्रश्नः—दुःषन्तस्य राजधर्मवर्णनम्

Kuru Lineage Inquiry and the Portrait of King Duḥṣanta’s Rule

Devanagari script

अम्मिन्नर्थश्न धर्मश्ष निखिलेनोपदिश्यते । इतिहासे महापुण्ये बुद्धिश्व परिनैष्ठिकी,इसमें अर्थ और धर्मका भी पूर्णरूपसे उपदेश किया जाता है। इस परम पावन इतिहाससे मोक्षबुद्धि प्राप्त होती है। जिनका स्वभाव अथवा विचार खोटा नहीं है, जो दानशील, सत्यवादी और आस्तिक हैं, ऐसे लोगोंको व्यासद्वारा विरचित वेदस्वरूप इस महाभारतका जो श्रवण कराता है, वह विद्वान अभीष्ट अर्थको प्राप्त कर लेता है

Transliteration

asminn arthe ca dharmaś ca nikhilenopadiśyate | itihāse mahāpuṇye buddhiś ca parinaiṣṭhikī ||

Translation

ในมหาประวัติอันเปี่ยมบุญนี้ อรรถะและธรรมะถูกสั่งสอนโดยครบถ้วน; และจากนี้ย่อมบังเกิดปัญญาอันตั้งมั่น—ความรู้แจ้งที่แน่วแน่ซึ่งหันจิตไปสู่โมกษะ

Word by Word

अस्मिन्in this

अर्थःmeaning/purpose/wealth

चand

धर्मःdharma/righteousness

चalso

निखिलेनcompletely/entirely

उपदिश्यतेis taught/instructed

इतिहासेin the history/itihasa

महापुण्येin the greatly meritorious (one)

बुद्धिःunderstanding/intelligence

चand

परिनैष्ठिकीleading to the highest end/final (liberating)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahābhārata

Itihāsa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts the Mahābhārata’s comprehensive scope: it fully teaches both artha (practical welfare and aims of life) and dharma (righteous conduct and moral order), and it also cultivates a mature, settled discernment that can orient one toward liberation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is praising the Mahābhārata as a sacred itihāsa and emphasizing its instructional power—presenting the epic not merely as a story but as an authoritative guide for ethical living and higher spiritual understanding.