Shloka 90

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

Devanagari script

कर्णपर्वसितै: पुष्पै: शल्यपर्वसुगन्धिभि: । स्त्रीपर्वीषीकविश्राम: शान्तिपर्वमहाफल:,कर्णपर्व इसके श्वेत पुष्प हैं और शल्यपर्व सुगन्ध। स्त्रीपर्व और ऐषीकपर्व इसकी छाया है तथा शान्तिपर्व इसका महान्‌ फल है

Transliteration

karṇaparvasitaiḥ puṣpaiḥ śalyaparvasugandhibhiḥ | strīparvīṣīkaviśrāmaḥ śāntiparvamahāphalaḥ ||

Translation

Karṇa Parva như những đóa hoa trắng, còn Śalya Parva như hương thơm. Strī Parva và Aiṣīka Parva ban bóng mát và chốn nghỉ, trong khi Śānti Parva là trái lớn của cây—ngụ ý rằng sau mùa nở hoa khắc nghiệt và mùi hương của chiến tranh, sử thi kết lại bằng vụ thu hoạch chín muồi của hòa bình, lời khuyên răn và dharma.

Word by Word

कर्णपर्वसितैःwith the white (flowers) of the Karṇa-parvan

पुष्पैःwith flowers

शल्यपर्वसुगन्धिभिःwith the fragrant (flowers) of the Śalya-parvan

स्त्रीपर्वthe Strī-parvan

ऐषीकपर्वthe Aiṣīka-parvan

विश्रामःshade; resting-place

शान्तिपर्वमहाफलःthe great fruit (namely) the Śānti-parvan

Characters & Entities

Karṇa Parva

Śalya Parva

Strī Parva

Aiṣīka Parva

Śānti Parva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the epic as a living tree: the war books are like blossoms and fragrance, but the ultimate ethical harvest is Śānti Parva—peace, governance, and dharma. It implies that suffering and conflict are not the final meaning; the mature purpose is reflective instruction and restoration of order.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is a meta-description of the Mahābhārata’s later books, using botanical imagery to map different parvas to parts of a tree—flowers, fragrance, shade/rest, and fruit—highlighting the transition from battlefield intensity to mourning and finally to extended teachings on peace and righteous conduct.