Mahabharata — Mahaprasthanika Parva, Shloka 26

Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog

Svargārohaṇa Test

Devanagari script

ततो देवनिकायस्थो नारद: सर्वलोकवित्‌ | उवाचोच्चैस्तदा वाक्‍्यं बृहद्वादी बृहत्तपा:

Transliteration

tato devanikāyastho nāradaḥ sarvalokavit | uvācoccais tadā vākyaṃ bṛhadvādī bṛhattapāḥ ||

Translation

此时，那罗陀——立于诸天众中，洞悉一切世界之事，辞辩无碍，苦行宏深——高声宣言。此景表明：接下来所言并非流言，而是建立在宇宙知见与道德权威之上的宣告。

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् निपातित अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• देव-निकाय-स्थः: standing in the assembly/group of gods
• देव-निकाय-स्थः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्थ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: स्थ + क्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• नारदः: Narada
• नारदः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नारद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• सर्व-लोक-वित्: knower of all worlds
• सर्व-लोक-वित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विद् (धातु) → वित् (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक: क्विप्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• उवाच: said, spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• उच्चैः: aloud, loudly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उच्चैः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• तदा: at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• वाक्यम्: speech, statement
• वाक्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्

• बृहद्-वाडी: great speaker, eloquent
• बृहद्-वाडी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वाडिन्/वाडी (प्रातिपदिक) (वद्-धातोः नामधातु/प्रातिपदिक-निर्माण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• बृहत्तपाः: of great austerity
• बृहत्तपाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तपस् (प्रातिपदिक) → तपाः (प्रातिपदिक-रूप)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• Devas (divine hosts/assemblies)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of testimony: a statement delivered by a sage who is both all-knowing (sarvalokavit) and disciplined by austerity (bṛhattapāḥ) carries moral authority. It prepares the listener to treat the forthcoming message as aligned with dharma and the wider cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that Nārada, present among the gods, speaks out loudly. This functions as a narrative cue that an important announcement or judgment is about to be made, witnessed in a divine setting rather than a private human conversation.