Mahabharata 9.51.4 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 51, Shloka 4

Vṛddha-kanyā-carita and Balarāma’s Kurukṣetra Inquiry (वृद्धकन्या-चरितम् / कुरुक्षेत्रफल-प्रश्नः)

Devanagari script

जनमेजय उवाच कथं द्वादशवार्षिक्यामनावृष्ट्यां द्विजोत्तमान्‌ । ऋषीनध्यापयामास पुरा सारस्वतो मुनि:

Transliteration

Janamejaya uvāca: kathaṁ dvādaśavārṣikyām anāvṛṣṭyāṁ dvijottamān ṛṣīn adhyāpayām āsa purā Sārasvato muniḥ?

Translation

ชนเมชัยตรัสถามว่า “ข้าแต่ฤๅษี ในกาลก่อน เมื่อเกิดความแล้งสิบสองปี ฤๅษีสารัสวตะสั่งสอนพระเวทแก่เหล่าทวิชฤๅษีผู้ประเสริฐได้อย่างไร?”

Word by Word

• जनमेजयः: Janamejaya
• जनमेजयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनमेजय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कथम्: how
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• द्वादश-वार्षिक्याम्: in (the) twelve-year (period)
• द्वादश-वार्षिक्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादशवार्षिकी
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अनावृष्ट्याम्: in drought / in absence of rain
• अनावृष्ट्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनावृष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• द्विजोत्तमान्: the best of the twice-born (excellent Brahmins)
• द्विजोत्तमान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विजोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• ऋषीन्: sages
• ऋषीन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अध्यापयामास: caused to study / taught
• Type: Verb
• Root: अधि + आपय (causative of √इ / √अय?; standard analysis: causative of √इ 'to go/learn' via अध्यापयति 'to teach')
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• आमास: (auxiliary in periphrastic perfect) did/indeed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुरा: formerly, in ancient times
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• सारस्वतः: Sarasvata (connected with Sarasvatī)
• सारस्वतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सारस्वत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मुनिः: sage
• मुनिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

जनमेजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Janamejaya
• Sārasvata Muni
• Ṛṣis
• Dvijottamas (foremost Brahmins)
• Vedas
• Anāvṛṣṭi (twelve-year drought)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical importance of preserving Vedic knowledge and teaching lineage even amid severe societal crisis (a prolonged drought), implying that dharma includes sustaining learning and guidance when conditions are hardest.

What is happening in the narrative?

King Janamejaya asks the narrator-sage to explain an earlier episode: during a twelve-year drought, how the sage Sārasvata continued to teach the Vedas to eminent Brahmin seers.