Shloka 11

कृपकृपी-जननम्

The Birth of Kṛpa and Kṛpī; Kṛpa’s Attainment of Astras

Devanagari script

“भरतश्रेष्ठ इस रमणीय पर्वतपर हमने बहुत-से ऐसे प्रदेश देखे हैं

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | bharataśreṣṭha asmin ramaṇīye parvate vayaṃ bahūn tādṛśān pradeśān dṛṣṭavantaḥ yatra gantum atidurgamam | tatra devānāṃ gandharvāṇāṃ ca apsarasāṃ ca krīḍābhūmiḥ | yatra śataśaḥ vimānāni saṃkīrṇāni tiṣṭhanti madhuragītānāṃ svarāś ca pratidhvananti | asminn eva parvate kuberaस्य anekāni udyānāni santi yatra bhūmiḥ kvacit samatalā kvacid viṣamā nimnonnatā ca |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi bậc ưu tú nhất trong dòng Bharata, trên ngọn núi mỹ lệ này chúng ta đã thấy nhiều miền đất vô cùng khó đến. Nơi ấy là chốn vui chơi của chư thiên, các Gandharva và các Apsarā—chật kín hàng trăm cỗ xe trời, và tiếng hát ngọt ngào vang vọng không ngừng. Ngay trên ngọn núi này còn có nhiều khu vườn của Kubera, nơi mặt đất chỗ thì bằng phẳng, chỗ thì gồ ghề, lên xuống.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'bharataśreṣṭha', 'definition': 'O best among the Bharatas (honorific address)'}, {'term': 'ramaṇīya', 'definition': 'delightful, charming, beautiful'}, {'term': 'parvata', 'definition': 'mountain'}, {'term': 'pradeśa', 'definition': 'region, tract, locality'}, {'term': 'atidurgama (atidurgamam)', 'definition': 'very hard to access

• difficult to go to'}, {'term': 'krīḍābhūmi', 'definition': 'playground, sporting ground'}, {'term': 'deva', 'definition': 'god, celestial being'}, {'term': 'gandharva', 'definition': 'celestial musician'}, {'term': 'apsaras', 'definition': 'celestial nymph'}, {'term': 'vimāna', 'definition': 'celestial car/chariot

• aerial vehicle'}, {'term': 'madhura-gīta', 'definition': 'sweet song'}, {'term': 'svara', 'definition': 'musical note, sound, voice'}, {'term': 'pratidhvanati', 'definition': 'to resound, echo'}, {'term': 'kubera', 'definition': 'Kubera, lord of wealth

• guardian of the North'}, {'term': 'udyāna', 'definition': 'garden, grove, pleasure-park'}, {'term': 'samatalā', 'definition': 'level, even'}, {'term': 'viṣamā / nimnonnatā', 'definition': 'uneven

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Bharata (as lineage/address: Bharataśreṣṭha)
• Devas
• Gandharvas
• Apsarases
• Vimānas
• Kubera
• Mountain (parvata)
• Kubera's gardens (udyānas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical contrast between human striving and divine privilege: some realms are alluring yet difficult to reach, reminding listeners that splendor and pleasure are not automatically accessible and that true worth is not measured only by celestial luxury but by disciplined effort and right conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to a Bharata prince a marvelous mountain region: hard-to-reach tracts that serve as the play-grounds of gods, Gandharvas, and Apsarases, filled with many vimānas and resonant with sweet music; he adds that Kubera’s many gardens are located there, with terrain that is sometimes level and sometimes uneven.