Shloka 35

समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः

Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī

Devanagari script

विचित्रार्थपदाख्यानमनेकसमयान्वितम्‌ । प्रतिपन्नं नरै: प्राजैरवैराग्यमिव मोक्षिभि:,जैसे मोक्ष चाहनेवाले पुरुष पर-वैराग्यकी शरण ग्रहण करते हैं, वैसे ही प्रज्ञावान्‌ मनुष्य अलौकिक अर्थ, विचित्र पद, अदभुत आख्यान और भाँति-भाँतिकी परस्पर विलक्षण मर्यादाओंसे युक्त इस महाभारतका आश्रय ग्रहण करते हैं

Transliteration

vicitrārthapadākhyānam anekasamayānvitam | pratipannaṁ naraiḥ prājair avairāgyam iva mokṣibhiḥ ||

Translation

此《摩诃婆罗多》——义理奇妙，辞句夺目，叙事殊异，并以多样的礼俗与时机交织而成——为明达之人所依止，正如求解脱者在趋向摩克沙之道上，以离欲（vairāgya）为所归依的资粮。

Word by Word

विचित्रार्थपदाख्यानम्a narration (text) of wondrous meanings, words, and episodes

अनेकसमयान्वितम्endowed with many conventions/occasions

प्रतिपन्नम्is resorted to / is taken up

नरैःby men

प्राजैःby the wise

अवैराग्यम्non-dispassion / attachment

इवlike, as if

मोक्षिभिःby seekers of liberation

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mahābhārata

mokṣa

vairāgya (dispassion)

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 presents the Mahābhārata as a comprehensive refuge for the wise: its many-layered narratives and varied norms guide ethical discernment, much as dispassion (vairāgya) supports a seeker aiming at liberation (mokṣa).

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker praises the Mahābhārata’s distinctive style and breadth—its wondrous meanings, unusual diction, and many kinds of accounts—and explains why discerning people take it up as an authoritative guide, paralleling how liberation-seekers rely on dispassion.