Shloka 2

Kuvalāśva’s Lineage and Uttaṅka’s Petition concerning Dhundhu (धुन्धु-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

अथाचष्ट मार्कण्डेयो< पूर्वमिदं श्रूयतां ब्राह्मणानां चरितम्‌,तब मार्कण्डेयजीने कहा--'राजन्‌! ब्राह्मणोंक इस अद्भुत चरित्रका श्रवण करो

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: athācaṣṭa Mārkaṇḍeyo—pūrvam idaṃ śrūyatāṃ brāhmaṇānāṃ caritam.

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Rồi Mārkaṇḍeya cất lời: “Tâu Đại vương, trước hết xin hãy lắng nghe câu chuyện về hạnh nghiệp kỳ diệu của hàng Bà-la-môn.”

Word by Word

• अथ: then/now
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• आचष्ट: says/tells
• Type: Verb
• Root: चक्ष्
• Form: Lat (present), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• मार्कण्डेयः: Markandeya (sage)
• मार्कण्डेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्कण्डेय
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पूर्वम्: formerly/earlier
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• श्रूयताम्: let it be heard / please listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: Lot (imperative), 3, singular, Atmanepada (passive sense)

• ब्राह्मणानाम्: of the Brahmins
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्मण
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• चरितम्: deed/story/conduct
• चरितम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरित
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mārkaṇḍeya
• brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)
• rājan (the king, i.e., Yudhiṣṭhira in context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical instruction through attentive listening to exemplary lives: dharma is conveyed not only by rules but by remembered conduct (carita) of the virtuous, especially those devoted to sacred learning and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the sage Mārkaṇḍeya begins a new tale and asks the king to hear first an account concerning the Brahmins’ deeds—signaling a shift into a didactic episode within the Vana Parva.