Shloka 14

मयस्य प्रतिकृतिः — Maya’s Offer and the Commissioning of the Sabhā

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच प्रतिगृहा तु तद्वाक्यं सम्प्रहृष्टो मयस्तदा । विमानप्रतिमां चक्रे पाण्डवस्य शुभां सभाम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | pratigṛhya tu tadvākyaṃ samprahṛṣṭo mayas tadā | vimānapratimāṃ cakre pāṇḍavasya śubhāṃ sabhām |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Khi nhận lời ấy như một mệnh lệnh, Māya liền hân hoan khôn xiết. Ngay lúc đó, ông quyết dựng cho vị Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) một đại sảnh cát tường, lộng lẫy như cung điện trên không của chư thiên.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'pratigṛhya': 'having accepted, having received (an instruction/request)', 'tu': 'but/and (connective particle)', 'tad-vākyam': 'those words

• that statement/command', 'samprahṛṣṭaḥ': 'greatly delighted, exhilarated', 'mayaḥ (mayāsuraḥ)': 'Maya (the Asura architect)', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'vimāna-pratimām': 'resembling a vimāna

• like a celestial aerial palace', 'cakre': 'made, fashioned, constructed (resolved and executed)', 'pāṇḍavasya': 'of the Pāṇḍava (here, for Yudhiṣṭhira)', 'śubhām': 'auspicious, splendid, beautiful', 'sabhām': 'assembly hall

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Maya (Mayāsura)
• Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Sabhā (assembly hall)
• Vimāna (celestial aerial palace, as a comparison)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Legitimate authority and dharmic kingship attract support and resources; extraordinary skill (even from unlikely allies) becomes ethically meaningful when directed toward rightful governance rather than vanity or harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Maya, pleased after accepting the instruction conveyed to him, decides to construct an exceptionally magnificent assembly hall for the Pāṇḍavas—specifically for King Yudhiṣṭhira—described as resembling a celestial vimāna.