Shloka 16

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

पुण्यश्ष रमणीयश्व स देशो व: प्रकीर्तित: । तदेतत्‌ कथित सर्व मया ब्राह्मणसत्तमा: । यथा देश: स विख्यातस्त्रिषु लोकेषु सुव्रता:,वह देश अत्यन्त पुण्यमय एवं रमणीय कहा गया है। उत्तम व्रतका पालन करनेवाले श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणो! तीनों लोकोंमें जिस प्रकार उस देशकी प्रसिद्धि हुई थी, वह सब मैंने आपलोगोंसे कह दिया

Transliteration

puṇyaś ca ramaṇīyaś ca sa deśo vaḥ prakīrtitaḥ | tad etat kathitaṃ sarvaṃ mayā brāhmaṇasattamāḥ | yathā deśaḥ sa vikhyātas triṣu lokeṣu suvratāḥ ||

Translation

那片土地已向诸位宣说：既至为福德，又清丽可悦。噫，婆罗门中之上首，持守善誓者！我如今已尽述其详——那地域如何在三界之中声名远播。

Word by Word

• {'puṇyaḥ': 'holy, meritorious, conducive to religious merit', 'ramaṇīyaḥ': 'pleasant, beautiful, charming', 'deśaḥ': 'country, region, place', 'vaḥ': 'to you (plural)', 'prakīrtitaḥ': 'declared, celebrated, described', 'tad etat': 'this very matter', 'kathitam': 'told, narrated', 'sarvam': 'all, entirely', 'mayā': 'by me', 'brāhmaṇasattamāḥ': 'O best among Brahmins', 'yathā': 'how, in what manner', 'vikhyātaḥ': 'well-known, famous', 'triṣu lokeṣu': 'in the three worlds', 'suvratāḥ': 'O those of good vows

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Rama (speaker)
• Brahmanas (addressed audience)
• the land/region (deśa)
• the three worlds (tri-loka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes reverence for a place made sacred by merit (puṇya) and recognized widely; it also highlights the ethical ideal of disciplined listeners (suvratāḥ) who receive and preserve such sacred knowledge.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker concludes a description of a renowned region, telling the assembled Brahmins that he has fully explained its holiness, beauty, and fame across the three worlds.