Mahabharata — Mahaprasthanika Parva, Shloka 12

अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः

The Commencement of the Great Departure

Devanagari script

ऐसा कहकर धर्मात्मा धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरने भाइयों-सहित आलस्य छोड़कर बुद्धिमान्‌ भगवान्‌ श्रीकृष्ण, बूढ़े मामा वसुदेव तथा बलराम आदिके लिये जलाञ्जलि दी और उन सबके उद्देश्यसे विधिपूर्वक श्राद्ध किया ।।

Transliteration

evaṃ uktvā dharmātmā dharmarājaḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ saha ālasyaṃ tyaktvā buddhimān bhagavantaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ vṛddhaṃ mātulaṃ vasudevaṃ tathā balarāmādīn uddiśya jalāñjaliṃ dadau, teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ nimittaṃ vidhivat śrāddhaṃ cakāra. dvaipāyanaṃ nāradaṃ ca mārkaṇḍeyaṃ tapodhanam | bhāradvājaṃ yājñavalkyaṃ harim uddiśya yatnavān ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说：说罢这些话，正法之王坚战——抛却一切懈怠，与诸弟兄同行——为睿智的圣主室利·奎师那、年迈的舅父婆苏提婆，以及婆罗罗摩等众人，献上奠水之供。继而为他们依仪轨举行施罗陀（śrāddha）祭礼。他又以谨慎虔诚之心，奉名供养兜波耶那（毗耶娑）、那罗陀、苦行财宝的摩尔甘德耶、婆罗陀婆阇、耶若那伐尔迦，以及哈利。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'धर्मात्मा (dharmātmā)', 'definition': 'righteous-souled

• one whose nature is grounded in dharma'}, {'term': 'धर्मराज (dharmarāja)', 'definition': '‘king of dharma’

• epithet of Yudhiṣṭhira'}, {'term': 'आलस्य (ālasya)', 'definition': 'laziness, inertia

• here, the refusal to remain passive in duty'}, {'term': 'जलाञ्जलि (jalāñjali)', 'definition': 'water-offering made with joined palms

• a funerary/commemorative libation'}, {'term': 'उद्दिश्य (uddiśya)', 'definition': 'intending

• ‘in the name of’'}, {'term': 'विधिपूर्वक / विधिवत् (vidhipūrvaka / vidhivat)', 'definition': 'according to prescribed rule and ritual propriety'}, {'term': 'श्राद्ध (śrāddha)', 'definition': 'ancestral/funerary rite performed with faith for the departed'}, {'term': 'मातुल (mātula)', 'definition': 'maternal uncle'}, {'term': 'तपोधन (tapodhana)', 'definition': '‘wealthy in austerity’

• an eminent ascetic'}, {'term': 'यत्नवान् (yatnavān)', 'definition': 'diligent, careful, making earnest effort'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana)
• युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• भ्रातृगण / पाण्डवाः (his brothers, the Pāṇḍavas)
• श्रीकृष्ण (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)
• वसुदेव (Vasudeva)
• बलराम (Balarāma)
• द्वैपायन / व्यास (Dvaipāyana/Vyāsa)
• नारद (Nārada)
• मार्कण्डेय (Mārkaṇḍeya)
• भारद्वाज (Bhāradvāja)
• याज्ञवल्क्य (Yājñavalkya)
• हरि (Hari)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even at the end of worldly power, dharma is upheld through disciplined remembrance and proper rites: Yudhiṣṭhira converts grief into duty, honoring the departed and venerable sages with regulated, faith-filled action rather than inertia.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the Pāṇḍavas prepare for their final departure, Yudhiṣṭhira, with his brothers, performs water-offerings and śrāddha—dedicating them to Kṛṣṇa, Vasudeva, Balarāma, and others, and also invoking revered seers such as Vyāsa, Nārada, and Mārkaṇḍeya.