Shloka 42

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

प्रवक्ष्यामो मतं कृत्स्नं व्यासस्याद्भुतकर्मणः ।

येन भारतमुद्दिश्य धर्माद्याः प्रकटीकृताः ॥

Transliteration

pravakṣyāmo mataṃ kṛtsnaṃ vyāsasyādbhutakarmaṇaḥ |

yena bhāratam uddiśya dharmādyāḥ prakaṭīkṛtāḥ ||

Translation

ہم عجیب و غریب کارناموں والے ویاس کے پورے مدعا اور تعلیم (سِدّھانْت) کو پوری طرح بیان کریں گے—جس کے ذریعے مہابھارت کو مقصود بنا کر دھرم وغیرہ پرُشارتھ ظاہر کیے گئے۔

Word by Word

• pravakṣyāmaḥ: we shall declare
• pravakṣyāmaḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pra-√vac (धातु)
• Form: Future tense (लृट्), Parasmaipada, 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन)

• matam: the doctrine/opinion
• matam: Karma (कर्म) of pravakṣyāmaḥ
• Type: Noun
• Root: mata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘opinion/doctrine’

• kṛtsnam: entire/complete
• kṛtsnam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of matam
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṛtsna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; agrees with matam

• vyāsasya: of Vyāsa
• vyāsasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vyāsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; ‘of Vyāsa’

• adbhuta: marvelous
• adbhuta: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) within compound
• Type: Adjective
• Root: adbhuta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Stem-form in compound (समासपूर्वपद); ‘wonderful/marvelous’

• karmaṇaḥ: of (him) of wondrous deeds
• karmaṇaḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: karman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive (6th/षष्ठी), Singular; tatpuruṣa: adbhuta-karmaṇ (‘of wonderful deeds’) qualifying vyāsa

• yena: by whom
• yena: Karaṇa (करण) / Agent-instrument
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (3rd/तृतीया), Singular; ‘by whom/with whom’ (refers to Vyāsa)

• bhāratam: the Bhārata (Mahābhārata)
• bhāratam: Karma (कर्म) of uddiśya
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhārata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; object of uddiśya

• uddiśya: having indicated / referring to
• uddiśya: Pūrvakāla-kriyā (पूर्वकालक्रिया) / purpose-reference
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ud-√diś (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (ल्यप्), indeclinable; ‘having indicated/with reference to’

• dharma-ādyāḥ: dharma and the rest (topics)
• dharma-ādyāḥ: Karta (कर्ता) of prakaṭīkṛtāḥ (grammatical subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; tatpuruṣa: ‘dharma and the rest’ (ādi as ‘etc.’)

• prakaṭīkṛtāḥ: were made manifest
• prakaṭīkṛtāḥ: Kriyā (क्रिया) (passive predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: prakaṭī-√kṛ (धातु) + kṛta (कृदन्त; क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Plural; predicative passive sense ‘were made manifest’

Speakers

• Frame narration (Purana narrator speaking within the opening dialogue context; specific speaker not explicit in the given verse alone)

Verse Rasa

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

Primary Deities

• Vyasa

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Itihasa-Purana purpose
• Didactic intent of Mahabharata
• Four aims of life (purusharthas)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse frames the Mahābhārata as a deliberate vehicle for revealing dharma (and the allied aims/teachings). Ethically, it asserts that great narratives are not mere history but structured guidance for right conduct and human flourishing, with dharma placed first as the orienting principle.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This is primarily a framing, ‘śāstra-prayojana’ (statement of purpose) passage rather than a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit. Indirectly, it supports the Purāṇic function of teaching dharma alongside cosmological and genealogical materials; it is best classified as part of the Purana’s upodghāta (introductory matter) rather than sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita proper.

What is the esoteric significance?

Vyāsa ‘of wondrous deeds’ symbolizes inspired transmission: the seer organizes vast, conflicted human experience (the Bhārata) into a clarified revelation of dharma and the higher aims. Esoterically, the ‘making manifest’ (prakaṭīkṛta) implies that dharma is not invented but unveiled—recognized through disciplined listening (śravaṇa) and reflection upon sacred narrative.