Shloka 31
Adhyāya 325: Nārada in Śvetadvīpa—Stotra to the Nirguṇa Mahātman
प्रावेशयत् ततः कक्ष्यां तृतीयां राजवेश्मन: । थोड़ी ही देरमें राजमन्त्री हाथ जोड़े हुए वहाँ पधारे और उन्हें अपने साथ महलकी तीसरी ड्योढ़ीमें ले गये ।।
prāveśayat tataḥ kakṣyāṃ tṛtīyāṃ rājaveśmanaḥ | tatrāntaḥpurasambaddhaṃ mahac caitrarathopamam |
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Pagkaraan, inihatid siya ng ministro sa ikatlong panloob na looban ng palasyong hari. Doon, katabi ng bahagi ng kababaihan sa palasyo, may isang napakalawak at napakagandang hardin—kaaya-aya na wari’y ang tanyag na kakahuyan ng Caitraratha. Mayroon itong maraming magkakahiwalay na lawa na inihanda para sa mga paglalaro sa tubig, at ang kaakit-akit na parke ay nagniningning sa mga punong hitik sa bulaklak. Ang dakilang harding iyon ay tinatawag na Pramadāvana; at doon dinala ng ministro si Śukadeva.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights royal hospitality and the deliberate staging of worldly splendor—palace courts, inner gardens, and pleasure-ponds—often used in epic narratives to contrast external luxury with inner discipline, testing whether a visitor (here, Śukadeva) remains steady in dharma and detachment amid temptations.
A royal minister escorts Śukadeva through the palace into the third inner precinct. Adjacent to the antaḥpura lies a magnificent garden likened to Caitraratha, filled with separate ponds for water-play and blooming trees. The garden is named Pramadāvana, and Śukadeva is led inside.