Shloka 73

अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope

Devanagari script

अस्य काव्यस्य कवयो न समर्था विशेषणे । विशेषणे गृहस्थस्य शेषास्त्रय इवाश्रमा:

Transliteration

asya kāvyasya kavayo na samarthā viśeṣaṇe | viśeṣaṇe gṛhasthasya śeṣās traya ivāśramāḥ ||

Translation

Các thi nhân không đủ sức diễn tả trọn vẹn sự ưu việt của thiên sử thi này. Đặc biệt, sự cao cả của giai đoạn đời sống gia chủ (gṛhastha) vượt quá mọi lời tán dương—bởi ba āśrama còn lại, như thể, đều nương tựa vào đó.

Word by Word

• अस्य: of this
• अस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• काव्यस्य: of the poem/epic
• काव्यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: काव्य
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• कवयः: poets
• कवयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• समर्थाः: capable/adequate
• समर्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समर्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विशेषणे: in describing / in characterization
• विशेषणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेषण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• विशेषणे: in describing
• विशेषणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशेषण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• गृहस्थस्य: of the householder
• गृहस्थस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृहस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शेषाः: the remaining (ones)
• शेषाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शेष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• त्रयः: three
• त्रयः: Karta
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• आश्रमाः: stages of life (āśramas)
• आश्रमाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts the centrality of gṛhastha-dharma: the householder stage sustains the other āśramas through support, hospitality, and social responsibility, and its excellence is difficult even for poets to adequately praise.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of the Ādi Parva, the text offers a eulogistic reflection on the Mahābhārata and on dharma; here it highlights the greatness of the householder āśrama, presenting it as the practical foundation upon which the other three life-stages depend.