Shloka 15

Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

अत्र ते वर्तयिष्यामि आख्यानमिदमुत्तमम्‌ । कथितं नारदेनेह पितुर्मम नराधिप,“नरेश्वर! इस विषयमें तुम्हें यह उत्तम आख्यान सुना रहा हूँ, जिसे नारदजीने मेरे पिताजीसे कहा था

Transliteration

atra te vartayiṣyāmi ākhyānam idam uttamam | kathitaṃ nāradeneha pitur mama narādhipa ||

Translation

Dito ko isasalaysay sa iyo ang dakilang kuwentong ito, O hari—yaong salaysay na sa bagay na ito rin ay ikinuwento ng pantas na si Nārada sa aking ama.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'atra', 'definition': 'here

• in this context'}, {'term': 'te', 'definition': 'to you'}, {'term': 'vartayiṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I will relate

• I will narrate'}, {'term': 'ākhyānam', 'definition': 'narrative

• instructive tale'}, {'term': 'idam', 'definition': 'this'}, {'term': 'uttamam', 'definition': 'excellent

• most beneficial'}, {'term': 'kathitam', 'definition': 'told

• narrated'}, {'term': 'nāradena', 'definition': 'by Nārada (instrumental case)'}, {'term': 'iha', 'definition': 'here

• in this matter/occasion'}, {'term': 'pituḥ mama', 'definition': 'to my father'}, {'term': 'narādhipa', 'definition': 'O ruler of men

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Nārada
• Sañjaya's father
• King (narādhipa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

That ethical counsel is often conveyed through exemplary narratives (ākhyāna), and that a king should attend to such inherited wisdom transmitted by trustworthy sages.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya signals a transition: he is about to recount an ‘excellent tale’ relevant to the present issue, explicitly grounding its authority by stating that Nārada once told it to Sañjaya’s father.