The Arghya
Outspake Bhishma to Yudhishthir: "Monarch of this wide domain,Honour due to crowned monarchs doth our sacred law ordain,
Arghya to the wise Preceptor, to the Kinsman and to Priest,To the Friend and to the Scholar, to the King as lord of feast,
Unto these is due the arghya, so our holy writs have said,Therefore to these kings assembled be the highest honour paid,
Noble are these crowned monarchs, radiant like the noonday sun,To the noblest, first in virtue, be the foremost honour done!"
"Who is noblest," quoth Yudhishthir, "in this galaxy of fame,Who of chiefs and crowned monarchs doth our foremost honour claim?"
Pond'ring spake the ancient Bhishma in his accents deep and clear:"Greatest midst the great is Krishna! chief of men without a peer!
Midst these monarchs pure in lustre, purest-hearted and most highLike the radiant sun is Krishna midst the planets of the sky,
Sunless climes are warmed to verdure by the sun's returning ray,Windless wastes are waked to gladness when reviving breezes play,
Even so this rajasuya, this thy sacrificial rite,Owes its sanctity and splendour unto Krishna's holy might!"
Bhishma spake and Sahadeva served his mandate quick as thought,And the arghya duly flavoured unto peerless Krishna brought,
Krishna trained in rules of virtue then the offered arghya took,Darkened Sisupala's forehead and his frame in tremor shook,
To Yudhishthir and to Bhishma turns the chief his flaming eyes,To the great and honoured Krishna, Sisupala wrathful cries.
Words in this poem
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- preceptor n.
- One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor. [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]
- kinsman n.
- A man of the same race or family; one related by blood.
- noonday n.
- Midday; twelve o'clock in the day; noon.
- quoth v. t.
- Said; spoke; uttered; -- used only in the first and third persons in the past tenses, and always followed by its nominative, the word or words said being the object; as, quoth I. quoth he. [AS.cweedhan, imp cwæedh, pl. cwædon; akin to OS. queedhan, OHG. quethan, quedan, Icel. kveedha, Goth. qiþan. sq. root22. Cf. Bequeath.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- sunless a.
- Destitute or deprived of the sun or its rays; shaded; shadowed.
- windless a.
- Having no wind; calm.
- sacrificial a.
- Of or pertaining to sacrifice or sacrifices; consisting in sacrifice; performing sacrifice.
- splendour n.
- Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson. [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]
- flavoured a.
- Having a distinct flavor; as, high-flavored wine.
- shook v. t.
- To pack, as staves, in a shook.
- wrathful a.
- Full of wrath; very angry; greatly incensed; ireful; passionate; as, a wrathful man.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Arghya is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, The Arghya, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/the-arghya.html, id L15774.
Form and metre
The Arghya is 24 lines in 12 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.0 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA domainA · ordainA
- 2 AA priestA · feastA
- 4 AA sunA · doneA
- 5 AA fameA · claimA
- 6 AA clearA · peerA
- 7 AA highA · skyA
- 8 AA rayA · playA
- 9 AA riteA · mightA
- 10 AA thoughtA · broughtA
- 11 AA tookA · shookA
- 12 AA eyesA · criesA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Outspake Bhishma to Yudhishthir: "Monarch of this wide domain, | 15 | ········/····˘/ |
| Honour due to crowned monarchs doth our sacred law ordain, | 15 | /˘···/··/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Arghya to the wise Preceptor, to the Kinsman and to Priest, | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/···· |
| To the Friend and to the Scholar, to the King as lord of feast, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Unto these is due the arghya, so our holy writs have said, | 15 | ·········//˘··· |
| Therefore to these kings assembled be the highest honour paid, | 15 | ·····˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Noble are these crowned monarchs, radiant like the noonday sun, | 15 | /˘···/·/˘˘··/˘· |
| To the noblest, first in virtue, be the foremost honour done!" | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/·/˘· |
| "Who is noblest," quoth Yudhishthir, "in this galaxy of fame, | 15 | ··/˘······/˘˘·· |
| Who of chiefs and crowned monarchs doth our foremost honour claim?" | 15 | ·····/··/˘/·/˘· |
| Pond'ring spake the ancient Bhishma in his accents deep and clear: | 15 | ····/˘····/˘··· |
| "Greatest midst the great is Krishna! chief of men without a peer! | 15 | /˘····/˘······· |
| Midst these monarchs pure in lustre, purest-hearted and most high | 15 | ··/···/˘/˘/˘··· |
| Like the radiant sun is Krishna midst the planets of the sky, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| Sunless climes are warmed to verdure by the sun's returning ray, | 15 | /˘····/˘···˘/˘· |
| Windless wastes are waked to gladness when reviving breezes play, | 15 | /˘····/˘·˘/˘/˘· |
| Even so this rajasuya, this thy sacrificial rite, | 14 | /˘········˘/˘· |
| Owes its sanctity and splendour unto Krishna's holy might!" | 15 | ··/˘˘·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Bhishma spake and Sahadeva served his mandate quick as thought, | 15 | ··········/···· |
| And the arghya duly flavoured unto peerless Krishna brought, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Krishna trained in rules of virtue then the offered arghya took, | 15 | /˘····/˘··/˘··· |
| Darkened Sisupala's forehead and his frame in tremor shook, | 15 | /˘····/˘····/˘· |
| To Yudhishthir and to Bhishma turns the chief his flaming eyes, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| To the great and honoured Krishna, Sisupala wrathful cries. | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.