Shloka 10

अश्वमेध-उपदेशः तथा मरुत्त-यज्ञ-धन-प्रसङ्गः

Counsel on Aśvamedha and the Marutta-treasure episode

Devanagari script

यथा च भरतो राजा दौष्यन्ति: पृथिवीपति: । शाकुन्तलो महावीर्यस्तव पूर्वपितामह:

Transliteration

yathā ca bharato rājā dauṣyantiḥ pṛthivīpatiḥ | śākuntalo mahāvīryas tava pūrva-pitāmahaḥ, tathā tvam api kuru ||

Translation

毗耶娑说道：“正如婆罗多王——杜沙延陀之子、地上之主、沙昆陀罗之子、亦是你那威武的先祖——如何举行祭祀，你也当以同样的方式举行。”

Word by Word

• यथा: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा
• Form: indeclinable (comparative particle)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: indeclinable (conjunction)

• भरतः: Bharata
• भरतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• राजा: king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• दौष्यन्तिः: son of Duṣyanta (patronymic epithet)
• दौष्यन्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौष्यन्ति
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पृथिवीपतिः: lord of the earth, king
• पृथिवीपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवीपति
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• शाकुन्तलः: son of Śakuntalā (epithet of Bharata)
• शाकुन्तलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शाकुन्तल
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• महावीर्यः: of great prowess
• महावीर्यः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महावीर्य
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• तव: your
• तव: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: genitive, singular

• पूर्वपितामहः: forefather, ancestor (lit. former grandfather)
• पूर्वपितामहः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पूर्वपितामह
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• तथा: so, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: indeclinable (correlative particle)

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Bharata
• Duṣyanta
• Śakuntalā
• yajña (sacrifice, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A righteous king should uphold dharma by following exemplary ancestral models; legitimate sovereignty is strengthened through proper ritual action performed in continuity with the lineage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa urges the addressed ruler to undertake a sacrifice, citing the precedent of the famed emperor Bharata—Duṣyanta’s son and Śakuntalā’s child—who had earlier performed such a rite.