Shloka 3

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच शृणु तत्त्वेन राजेन्द्र कीर्त्यमानं मयानघ । वासुदेवं पुरस्कृत्य यदकुर्वत पाण्डवा:,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--निष्पाप नरेश! भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्णको आगे करके पाण्डवोंने जो कुछ किया था, उसे ठीक-ठीक बताता हूँ, ध्यान देकर सुनो

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | śṛṇu tattvena rājendra kīrtyamānaṃ mayānagha | vāsudevaṃ puraskṛtya yad akurvata pāṇḍavāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi bậc chúa tể các vua, hỡi người vô tội, hãy lắng nghe chăm chú khi ta thuật lại sự thật. Ta sẽ kể đúng như đã xảy ra những điều mà các Pāṇḍava đã làm, tôn Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) làm người đi đầu.”

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaishampayana

उवाचsaid

शृणुlisten

तत्त्वेनin truth; accurately

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

कीर्त्यमानम्being recounted

मयाby me

अनघO sinless one

वासुदेवम्Vasudeva (Krishna)

पुरस्कृत्यhaving placed in front; having made the leader

यत्what; that which

अकुर्वतdid

पाण्डवाःthe Pandavas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Pāṇḍavas

Rājendra (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya)

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 foregrounds two ethical ideals: truthful narration (tattvena—accurately, without distortion) and right guidance (puraskṛtya Vāsudevam—acting with Kṛṣṇa placed foremost), implying that dharmic action is best undertaken under wise, righteous leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses the king (Janamejaya) and introduces the forthcoming account: he will now describe, truthfully and in order, the deeds of the Pāṇḍavas, emphasizing that they acted with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) as their leading figure.