Shloka 3

Subhadrā-vivāha-saṃsthāpana, Vṛṣṇi–Kuru satkāra, and Abhimanyu-janma

Chapter 213

Devanagari script

कथकाश्षापरे राजन्‌ श्रमणाश्न वनौकस: । दिव्याख्यानानि ये चापि पठन्ति मधुरं द्विजा:,वेद-वेदांगोंके विद्वान, अध्यात्मचिन्तन करनेवाले, भिक्षाजीवी ब्रह्मचारी, भगवद्भक्त, पुराणोंके ज्ञाता सूत, अन्य कथावाचक, संन्यासी, वानप्रस्थ तथा जो ब्राह्मण मधुर स्वरसे दिव्य कथाओंका पाठ करते हैं, वे सब अर्जुनके साथ गये

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kathakāś cāpare rājan śramaṇāś ca vanaukasaḥ | divyākhyānāni ye cāpi paṭhanti madhuraṃ dvijāḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩衍那说道：“大王啊，亦有其他说书之人，同诸沙门苦行者与林栖之士。又有诸二生婆罗门，以甘美之声诵读神圣而振奋人心的故事——此等之人亦随众同行，为信敬所牵，并为充满法义之言辞的力量所感召。”

Word by Word

• {'kathakāḥ': 'storytellers

• reciters of narratives', 'apare': 'others

• additional people', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative address)', 'śramaṇāḥ': 'ascetics

• renunciants devoted to spiritual discipline', 'vanaukasaḥ': 'forest-dwellers

• those living in the woods (e.g., vānaprasthas/forest ascetics)', 'divyākhyānāni': 'divine/exalted narratives

• sacred stories', 'ye': 'who

• those who', 'cāpi': 'and also', 'paṭhanti': 'recite

• read aloud', 'madhuram': 'sweetly

• with pleasing tone', 'dvijāḥ': 'twice-born (Brahmins/Kṣatriyas/Vaiśyas)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• rājan (King Janamejaya, implied addressee)
• kathakāḥ (storytellers)
• śramaṇāḥ (ascetics)
• vanaukasaḥ (forest-dwellers)
• dvijāḥ (twice-born/Brahmins)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the cultural and ethical power of sacred storytelling: people devoted to spiritual discipline—ascetics, forest-dwellers, and Brahmins who recite divine narratives—naturally gather and move together, suggesting that dharma is strengthened through listening, recitation, and association with the virtuous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the composition of a traveling company: besides other groups already mentioned, additional storytellers, renunciants, forest-dwellers, and Brahmins who melodiously recite sacred accounts are present and proceed along with the main entourage.