Shloka 14

वनप्रस्थानम् (Departure for the Forest) — Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 24

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणा: साम्निहोत्राश्न तथैव च निरग्नय: । स्वाध्यायिनो भिक्षवश्ष॒ तथैव वनवासिन:,वहाँ बहुत-से अन्निहोत्री ब्राह्मणों, निरग्निकों, स्वाध्यायपरायण ब्रह्मचारियों, वानप्रस्थियों, संन्यासियों, सैकड़ों कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले तपःसिद्ध महात्माओं तथा अन्य अनेक ब्राह्मणोंने महाराज युधिष्ठिरको घेर लिया

Transliteration

brāhmaṇāḥ sāmnihotrāś ca tathaiva ca niragnayaḥ | svādhyāyino bhikṣavaś ca tathaiva vanavāsinaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Nhiều Bà-la-môn—người giữ lửa tế Agnihotra, kẻ sống không nhóm lửa—cùng các học trò Veda chuyên cần tụng đọc, những vị khất sĩ và người ẩn cư nơi rừng thẳm, đã tụ hội quanh vua Yudhiṣṭhira. Sự hiện diện của họ gợi lên sức nặng của dharma: nhà vua được bao quanh không phải bởi binh khí, mà bởi khổ hạnh, học vấn và uy quyền của thực hành tâm linh.

Word by Word

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

साम्निहोत्राश्चSāmnihotra-performers (those maintaining the daily fire-rite)

तथाthus; likewise

एवindeed; just; also

चand

निरग्नयःthose without (sacred) fires

स्वाध्यायिनःstudents devoted to self-study (Vedic reciters)

भिक्षवःmendicants; beggars (monks)

तथाlikewise

एवalso; indeed

वनवासिनःforest-dwellers

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)

agnihotrins (keepers of sacred fires)

niragnis (those without ritual fires)

svādhyāyins (Veda-students/reciters)

bhikṣus (mendicants)

vanavāsins (forest-dwellers)

Yudhiṣṭhira

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 highlights the many legitimate modes of dharmic life—ritual household discipline (agnihotra), austerity without fires, Vedic study, mendicancy, and forest-dwelling. Together they represent spiritual authority that can guide and morally evaluate a king, implying that true power is accountable to dharma and tapas.

What is happening in the narrative?

A large group of Brahmins and ascetics—fire-keepers, fireless ascetics, Veda-reciting students, mendicants, and forest-dwellers—assemble and surround King Yudhiṣṭhira during the forest-exile setting, indicating a significant encounter where counsel, requests, or moral scrutiny may follow.