Shloka 173
Devanagari script
नापुराणविदा चैव शक्यो व्याहर्तुमज्जसा । वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--जनेश्वर! तुमने बड़ा गूढ़ प्रश्न उपस्थित किया है। जिसने तपस्या नहीं की है तथा जो वेदों और पुराणोंका विद्वान् नहीं है
Transliteration
na purāṇavidā caiva śakyo vyāhartum ajjasā |
Translation
毗湿摩波耶那说：“此等事理，非精通《往世书》者，不能轻易宣说。未曾修苦行、又不通吠陀与《往世书》之人，决不能不费力地提出如此深奥的问题。”
Word by Word
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
पुराणविदाby a knower of the Purāṇas
पुराणविदा:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootपुराणविद्
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Singular
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
एवindeed/only
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
शक्यःpossible/able
शक्यः:
TypeAdjective
Rootशक्य
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
व्याहर्तुम्to utter/speak
व्याहर्तुम्:
TypeVerb
Rootव्याहृ
FormInfinitive (tumun)
अज्जसाeasily/straightaway
अज्जसा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअज्जस
Speaker
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Characters & Entities
V
VaiśampāyanaCharacter Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse stresses adhikāra (fitness/qualification): profound spiritual or ethical questions and their articulation require tapas (discipline) and grounding in authoritative traditions like the Vedas and Purāṇas, not mere curiosity.
Vaiśampāyana responds to a question by emphasizing its depth and implying that only someone with austerity and scriptural learning would be capable of posing (and properly engaging) such a subtle inquiry.