Shloka 28

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

Sanskrit

नारदो नन्दनेऽपश्यत् पुंश्चलीगणमध्यगम् ।

शक्रं सुराधिराजानं तन्मुखासक्तलोचनम् ॥

Transliteration

nārado nandane 'paśyat puṃścalīgaṇamadhyagam | śakraṃ surādhirājānaṃ tanmukhāsaktalocanam ||

Translation

نندن کے باغ میں نارَد نے دیوتاؤں کے سردار شکر (اِندر) کو شوخ عورتوں کے جُھنڈ کے بیچ بیٹھا دیکھا؛ اُس کی نگاہیں اُن کے چہروں پر گہری طرح جمی ہوئی تھیں۔

Word by Word

• nāradaḥ: Nārada
• nāradaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nārada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative, 1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• nandane: in Nandana (garden)
• nandane: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nandana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative, 7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• apaśyat: saw
• apaśyat: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लङ्-लकार (Imperfect/Past), परस्मैपद (Parasmaipada), प्रथम-पुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular)

• puṃścalī-gaṇa-madhyagam: standing in the midst of a group of courtesans
• puṃścalī-gaṇa-madhyagam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: puṃścalī (प्रातिपदिक) + gaṇa (प्रातिपदिक) + madhyaga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (gaṇasya madhye gataḥ = ‘gone/being in the midst of the group’)

• śakram: Śakra (Indra)
• śakram: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śakra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• surādhirājānam: the overlord of the gods
• surādhirājānam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sura (प्रातिपदिक) + adhirāja (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); समासः—षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (surāṇām adhirājaḥ = ‘king over the gods’)

• tat-mukha-āsakta-locanam: whose eyes were fixed on her face
• tat-mukha-āsakta-locanam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of śakram
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tat (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) + mukha (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक) + locana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative, 2nd), एकवचन (Singular); बहुव्रीहिः—‘yasya locane tat-mukhe āsakte’ (whose eyes are fixed on her face)

Speakers

• Narratorial verse within the opening frame (not the birds’ dialogue; not Devi Mahatmyam narration)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "hasya", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Primary Deities

• Indra (Śakra)
• Nārada

Key Themes

• Deva courtly life
• Temptation and distraction
• Moral contrast (status vs self-control)
• Narrative setup

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse highlights that even the highest worldly authority (Indra as surādhirāja) can be overcome by sensory fascination. It implicitly commends vigilance (saṃyama) and warns that pleasure (kāma) can eclipse discernment, becoming a vulnerability even for the eminent.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse functions as narrative framing rather than a direct exposition of the pañcalakṣaṇa topics. Indirectly it belongs to the purāṇic ‘vaṃśānucarita’/episode-style storytelling that supports later doctrinal or genealogical materials, but it is not itself sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṃśa/vaṃśānucarita content.

What is the esoteric significance?

Indra symbolizes the governing mind/ego-principle that presides over the ‘heaven’ of refined experience; the puṃścalīgaṇa represent sense-objects that multiply and captivate attention. Nārada, the roaming sage, functions as the witnessing insight that exposes fixation (āsakti). The scene foreshadows how lapses in inner sovereignty precipitate larger cosmic or moral consequences in purāṇic narrative logic.