Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 12

Saubha-nipātana: Kṛṣṇa’s Counter to Śālva’s Māyā

Book 3, Chapter 23

चकार यामप्रतिमां महात्मा सभां मयो देवसभाप्रकाशाम्‌ | तां देवगुप्तामिव देवमायां हित्वा प्रयात: क्व नु धर्मराज:,“महामना मयदानवने देवताओंकी सभाके समान सुशोभित होनेवाली जिस अनुपम सभाका निर्माण किया था, देवताओंद्वारा रक्षित देवमायाके समान उस सभाका परित्याग करके धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर कहाँ चले जा रहे हैं?'

Vaiśampāyana uvāca |

Cakāra yāmapratimāṁ mahātmā sabhāṁ Mayo devasabhāprakāśām |

Tāṁ devaguptām iva devamāyāṁ hitvā prayātaḥ kva nu dharmarājaḥ ||

毗耶娑波耶那说道:伟大的玛雅建造了一座无与伦比的议事殿,光辉灿然,宛如天神之殿。然而他竟舍弃了那座奇妙的殿堂——仿佛由诸天守护、如同神圣幻化一般——法王犹提施提罗究竟去了何处?

चकारmade, constructed
चकार:
TypeVerb
Rootकृ
Formलिट् (परस्मैपद), 3, singular
यामप्रतिमाम्a wondrous/peerless (night-like) image; an incomparable (hall)
यामप्रतिमाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootयाम-प्रतिमा
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
महात्माthe great-souled one (Mayasura)
महात्मा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमहात्मन्
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
सभाम्assembly-hall
सभाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootसभा
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
मयःMaya (the Danava architect)
मयः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमय
Formmasculine, nominative, singular
देवसभा-प्रकाशाम्shining like the gods' assembly-hall
देवसभा-प्रकाशाम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootदेवसभा-प्रकाशा
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
ताम्that (hall)
ताम्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
देवगुप्ताम्protected by the gods
देवगुप्ताम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootदेव-गुप्ता
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
इवlike, as if
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
देवमायाम्divine illusion/magic
देवमायाम्:
TypeNoun
Rootदेव-माया
Formfeminine, accusative, singular
हित्वाhaving abandoned
हित्वा:
TypeVerb
Rootहा
Formक्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund)
प्रयातःgone forth, departed
प्रयातः:
TypeVerb
Rootप्र-या
Formक्त (past passive participle), masculine, nominative, singular
क्वwhere?
क्व:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootक्व
नुindeed/now (interrogative particle)
नु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootनु
धर्मराजःDharma-king (Yudhiṣṭhira)
धर्मराजः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootधर्म-राज
Formmasculine, nominative, singular

वैशम्पायन उवाच

V
Vaiśampāyana
M
Maya (Dānava)
D
Devas (gods)
D
Devasabhā (hall of the gods)
D
Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira)
S
Sabhā (assembly hall)

Educational Q&A

Worldly magnificence—even when seemingly secure and divinely protected—can be left behind when dharma demands endurance. The verse highlights the ethical gravity of Yudhiṣṭhira’s path: choosing principled suffering (exile) over attachment to royal splendor.

The narrator recalls the extraordinary hall built by Maya, comparable to the gods’ own assembly. He then asks, with wonder and lament, where Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira has gone after abandoning such a marvel—pointing to the transition from royal life to the hardships of the forest.