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Shloka 24

Adhyaya 1Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds

जैमिनिरुवाच अत्यद्भुतमिदं ब्रह्मन् खगवागिव मानुषी ।

यत् पक्षिणस् ते विज्ञानमापुरत्यन्तदुर्लभम् ॥

jaiminir uvāca atyadbhutam idaṁ brahman khagavāg iva mānuṣī | yat pakṣiṇas te vijñānam āpur atyantadurlabham ||

ไชมินีกล่าวว่า “โอ พราหมณ์ น่าอัศจรรย์ยิ่งนัก—ถ้อยคำดุจนก แต่ความหมายเป็นของมนุษย์—นกเหล่านี้บรรลุความรู้ซึ่งได้มายากยิ่งได้อย่างไร”

jaiminiḥJaimini
jaiminiḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootjaimini (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
uvācasaid
uvāca:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
TypeVerb
Root√vac (धातु)
FormVerb; Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन); parasmaipada
ati-adbhutamvery wonderful
ati-adbhutam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootati (अव्यय) + adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक)
FormKarmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) intensifying: ‘very wonderful’; Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; agrees with idam
idamthis
idam:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootidam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormPronoun (सर्वनाम), Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
brahmanO Brahmin (sage)
brahman:
Sambodhana (सम्बोधन/Vocative)
TypeNoun
Rootbrahman (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Vocative (8th/सम्बोधन), Singular
khaga-vākbird-speech
khaga-vāk:
Upamāna (उपमान/Standard of comparison)
TypeNoun
Rootkhaga (प्रातिपदिक) + vāc (प्रातिपदिक)
FormTatpuruṣa (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) ‘speech of birds’; Feminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular
ivalike
iva:
Upamā (उपमा/Comparative marker)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootiva (अव्यय)
FormAvyaya; particle of comparison (उपमावाचक अव्यय)
mānuṣīhuman
mānuṣī:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootmānuṣī (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; predicate adjective qualifying khaga-vāk
yatthat/which
yat:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Relative)
TypeNoun
Rootyad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormRelative pronoun (यद्), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (1st/2nd), Singular; introducing relative clause
pakṣiṇaḥbirds
pakṣiṇaḥ:
Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
TypeNoun
Rootpakṣin (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural (बहुवचन)
teyour
te:
Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी/Genitive relation)
TypeNoun
Roottad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormPronoun, Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; with vijñānam (‘of you/your’)
vijñānamknowledge
vijñānam:
Karma (कर्म/Object)
TypeNoun
Rootvijñāna (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular
āpuḥattained
āpuḥ:
Kriyā (क्रिया/Predicate)
TypeVerb
Root√āp (धातु)
FormVerb; Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन); parasmaipada
atyanta-durlabhamextremely rare
atyanta-durlabham:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
TypeAdjective
Rootatyanta (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + durlabha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormKarmadhāraya (कर्मधारय) ‘extremely difficult-to-obtain’; Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; qualifies vijñānam
Jaimini addressing a Brahmin interlocutor in the frame narrative (contextually tied to the Dharmapakshis episode)

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

Frame narrativeDharma through unexpected teachersJnana (spiritual knowledge)Wonder and inquiry (jijñāsā)

FAQs

The verse foregrounds jijñāsā (earnest inquiry): true knowledge is not restricted by outer form or social category. Even beings regarded as ‘lower’ (birds) can become vehicles of dharma and wisdom, urging humility and attentiveness to the source of instruction.

This verse functions as narrative framing rather than directly stating one of the pañcalakṣaṇa topics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṁśa, manvantara, vaṁśānucarita). It prepares the listener for dharma/itihāsa-style instruction that may later connect to genealogies and manvantaras.

Symbolically, ‘bird-speech with human meaning’ suggests that wisdom can be encoded in unconventional forms: the capacity to hear the inner meaning (artha) beyond the outer sound (śabda). It hints at viveka—discerning the subtle teaching concealed within ordinary appearances.