Shloka 2
Devanagari script
वायुदेव उवाच शृणुष्वावहितो राजन् द्विजानां भरतर्षभ | यथा तत्त्वेन वदतो गुणान् वै कुरुसत्तम
Transliteration
vāyudeva uvāca | śṛṇuṣvāvahito rājan dvijānāṃ bharatarṣabha | yathā tattvena vadato guṇān vai kurusattama ||
Translation
风神说道：“大王，婆罗多族之雄牛啊，请专心聆听。我将依真实之理，叙说二次生者（婆罗门）的德行；库鲁中最卓越者啊，我将如实道来。”
Word by Word
{'vāyudevaḥ''the Wind-god
{'vāyudevaḥ':
Vāyu', 'uvāca''said
Vāyu', 'uvāca':
spoke', 'śṛṇuṣva''listen (imperative, 2nd person singular)', 'āvahitaḥ': 'attentive
spoke', 'śṛṇuṣva':
composed', 'rājan''O king (vocative)', 'dvijānām': 'of the twice-born
composed', 'rājan':
especially brāhmaṇas (genitive plural)', 'bharatarṣabha''O bull among the Bharatas
especially brāhmaṇas (genitive plural)', 'bharatarṣabha':
best of the Bharata lineage', 'yathā''as
best of the Bharata lineage', 'yathā':
in the manner that', 'tattvena''in truth
in the manner that', 'tattvena':
accurately', 'vadato''of (me) speaking
accurately', 'vadato':
as one who speaks (genitive singular participle)', 'guṇān''virtues
as one who speaks (genitive singular participle)', 'guṇān':
merits (accusative plural)', 'vai''indeed
merits (accusative plural)', 'vai':
surely (emphatic particle)', 'kurusattama''O best among the Kurus (vocative)'}
surely (emphatic particle)', 'kurusattama':
Speaker
वायुदेव उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
Vāyudeva (Vāyu)K
King (rājan)B
Bharata lineage (Bharata)K
Kuru lineage (Kuru)D
Dvija/Brāhmaṇas (twice-born)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces an ethical instruction: the speaker (Vāyudeva) will present a truthful, accurate account of the virtues (guṇas) expected of the dvijas—especially brāhmaṇas—framing them as standards relevant to dharma and social responsibility.
Vāyudeva addresses a king from the Bharata–Kuru line, urging attentive listening, and begins a didactic discourse that will enumerate and explain the qualities of brāhmaṇas.