महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-1, chapter-71, verse-1

जनमेजय उवाच ।
ययातिः पूर्वकोऽस्माकं दशमो यः प्रजापतेः ।
कथं स शुक्रतनयां लेभे परमदुर्लभाम् ॥१॥

1. janamejaya uvāca ,
yayātiḥ pūrvako'smākaṁ daśamo yaḥ prajāpateḥ ,
kathaṁ sa śukratanayāṁ lebhe paramadurlabhām.

1. janamejaya uvāca yayātiḥ pūrvakaḥ asmākam daśamaḥ yaḥ
prajāpateḥ katham saḥ śukratanayām lebhe paramadurlabhām

1. Janamejaya said: "Yayāti, our ancestor, who was the tenth (in lineage) from Prajāpati—how did he obtain Śukra's daughter, who was exceedingly rare?"

Words meanings summery:

• जनमेजय (janamejaya) - Janamejaya (Janamejaya (proper name))

• उवाच (uvāca) - said (said, spoke)

• ययातिः (yayātiḥ) - King Yayāti (Yayāti (name))

• पूर्वकः (pūrvakaḥ) - our ancestor (former, first, ancestor, predecessor)

• अस्माकम् (asmākam) - our (of us, our)

• दशमः (daśamaḥ) - tenth (in lineage) (tenth)

• यः (yaḥ) - who (who, which)

• प्रजापतेः (prajāpateḥ) - of Prajāpati

• कथम् (katham) - how? (how? in what manner?)

• सः (saḥ) - he (Yayāti) (he, that)

• शुक्रतनयाम् (śukratanayām) - Śukra's daughter (Devayānī) (daughter of Śukra)

• लेभे (lebhe) - obtained (obtained, received, gained)

• परमदुर्लभाम् (paramadurlabhām) - exceedingly rare/difficult to obtain (extremely rare, most difficult to obtain)

Words meanings and morphology

जनमेजय (janamejaya) - Janamejaya (Janamejaya (proper name))

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of janamejaya

janamejaya - name of a king, a descendant of the Pāṇḍavas

Note: Subject of `uvāca`.

उवाच (uvāca) - said (said, spoke)

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, perfect (lit) of uvāca

Perfect

Perfect, 3rd person singular, active

Root: vac (class 2)

Note: Introduces Janamejaya's speech.

ययातिः (yayātiḥ) - King Yayāti (Yayāti (name))

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yayāti

yayāti - a proper noun, name of a famous king

Note: Subject of the question.

पूर्वकः (pūrvakaḥ) - our ancestor (former, first, ancestor, predecessor)

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of pūrvaka

pūrvaka - former, first, preceding, ancestor, progenitor

derived from pūrva (former, prior)

अस्माकम् (asmākam) - our (of us, our)

(pronoun)

Genitive, plural of asmad

asmad - I, we

1st person pronoun stem

Note: Qualifies `pūrvakaḥ`.

दशमः (daśamaḥ) - tenth (in lineage) (tenth)

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of daśama

daśama - tenth

ordinal number from daśan (ten)

यः (yaḥ) - who (who, which)

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of yad

yad - who, which, what

Relative pronoun stem

Note: Introduces a relative clause modifying `yayātiḥ`.

प्रजापतेः (prajāpateḥ) - of Prajāpati

(noun)

Genitive, masculine, singular of prajāpati

prajāpati - lord of creation, a creator god, progenitor, ancestor

Compound: prajā (offspring, creatures) + pati (lord, master)

Compound type : tatpuruṣa (prajā+pati)

• prajā – progeny, offspring, creatures, subjects
  noun (feminine)
• pati – lord, master, husband, owner
  noun (masculine)

Note: Source of descent for 'tenth'.

कथम् (katham) - how? (how? in what manner?)

(indeclinable)

interrogative adverb

सः (saḥ) - he (Yayāti) (he, that)

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

Demonstrative pronoun stem

Note: Subject of `lebhe`.

शुक्रतनयाम् (śukratanayām) - Śukra's daughter (Devayānī) (daughter of Śukra)

(noun)

Accusative, feminine, singular of śukratanayā

śukratanayā - daughter of Śukra (proper name)

Compound: Śukra (name of a sage/deity) + tanayā (daughter)

Compound type : tatpuruṣa (śukra+tanayā)

• śukra – bright, clear, white; the planet Venus; name of a sage, preceptor of the Asuras
  proper noun (masculine)
• tanayā – daughter
  noun (feminine)
  derived from √tan (to stretch, extend) + aka (suffix), then feminine form
  Root: tan (class 8)

Note: Object of `lebhe`.

लेभे (lebhe) - obtained (obtained, received, gained)

(verb)

3rd person , singular, middle, perfect (lit) of lebhe

Perfect

Perfect, 3rd person singular, middle voice

Root: labh (class 1)

Note: Main verb of the question.

परमदुर्लभाम् (paramadurlabhām) - exceedingly rare/difficult to obtain (extremely rare, most difficult to obtain)

(adjective)

Accusative, feminine, singular of paramadurlabhā

paramadurlabhā - extremely difficult to obtain, exceedingly rare, most inaccessible

Karmadhāraya compound: parama (supreme, utmost) + durlabhā (difficult to obtain); durlabhā is from dur (difficult) + √labh (to obtain)

Compound type : karmadhāraya (parama+durlabhā)

• parama – supreme, highest, ultimate, greatest, most excellent
  adjective
• durlabhā – difficult to obtain, rare, inaccessible
  adjective (feminine)
  Gerundive/adjective
  Compound: dur (bad, difficult) + labha (to be obtained, obtainable)
  Prefix: dur
  Root: labh (class 1)

Note: Qualifies `śukratanayām`.