महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-15, chapter-1, verse-3

कियन्तं चैव कालं ते पितरो मम पूर्वकाः ।
स्थिता राज्ये महात्मानस्तन्मे व्याख्यातुमर्हसि ॥३॥

3. kiyantaṁ caiva kālaṁ te pitaro mama pūrvakāḥ ,
sthitā rājye mahātmānastanme vyākhyātumarhasi.

3. kiyantam ca eva kālam te pitaraḥ mama pūrvakāḥ
sthitāḥ rājye mahātmānaḥ tat me vyākhyātum arhasi

3. kiyantam ca eva kālam mama pūrvakāḥ te mahātmānaḥ
pitaraḥ rājye sthitāḥ tat me vyākhyātum arhasi

3. And indeed, for how long did those great-souled (mahātman) ancestors of mine remain in the kingdom? You ought to explain that to me.

Words meanings summery:

• कियन्तम् (kiyantam) - how much, how many, for how long

• च (ca) - and

• एव (eva) - indeed, just, only

• कालम् (kālam) - time, period

• ते (te) - those, they

• पितरः (pitaraḥ) - fathers, ancestors

• मम (mama) - my, of me

• पूर्वकाः (pūrvakāḥ) - former, ancient, earlier

• स्थिताः (sthitāḥ) - stood, remained, were

• राज्ये (rājye) - in the kingdom, in the reign, in sovereignty

• महात्मानः (mahātmānaḥ) - great-souled, noble-minded

• तत् (tat) - that

• मे (me) - to me, for me

• व्याख्यातुम् (vyākhyātum) - to explain, to describe

• अर्हसि (arhasi) - you ought, you are able, you deserve

Words meanings and morphology

कियन्तम् (kiyantam) - how much, how many, for how long

(adjective)

Accusative, masculine, singular of kiyat

kiyat - how much, how great, how many

Note: Agrees with kālam.

च (ca) - and

(indeclinable)

Note: Conjunction.

एव (eva) - indeed, just, only

(indeclinable)

Note: Emphatic particle.

कालम् (kālam) - time, period

(noun)

Accusative, masculine, singular of kāla

kāla - time, period, proper season

Note: Used adverbially to mean 'for how long'.

ते (te) - those, they

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, plural of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

Note: Agrees with pitaraḥ, pūrvakāḥ and mahātmānaḥ.

पितरः (pitaraḥ) - fathers, ancestors

(noun)

Nominative, masculine, plural of pitṛ

pitṛ - father, ancestor

Note: Subject of 'sthitāḥ'.

मम (mama) - my, of me

(pronoun)

Genitive, singular of aham

aham - I, me

Note: Possessive pronoun, 'my'.

पूर्वकाः (pūrvakāḥ) - former, ancient, earlier

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, plural of pūrvaka

pūrvaka - preceding, former, ancient

Note: Agrees with pitaraḥ.

स्थिताः (sthitāḥ) - stood, remained, were

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, plural of sthita

sthita - standing, existing, abiding, remaining

Past Passive Participle

from root sthā (स्था), 'to stand'

Root: sthā (class 1)

Note: Acts as a verb in this context, 'they remained'.

राज्ये (rājye) - in the kingdom, in the reign, in sovereignty

(noun)

Locative, neuter, singular of rājya

rājya - kingdom, sovereignty, reign

Note: Locative case indicating location/state.

महात्मानः (mahātmānaḥ) - great-souled, noble-minded

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, plural of mahātman

mahātman - great-souled, noble, eminent, a great person, the supreme (ātman)

Bahuvrīhi compound

Compound type : bahuvrihi (mahat+ātman)

• mahat – great, large, vast
  adjective
• ātman – self, soul, spirit, essential nature
  noun (masculine)

Note: Agrees with pitaraḥ.

तत् (tat) - that

(pronoun)

Accusative, neuter, singular of tad

tad - that, he, she, it

Note: Object of vyākhyātum.

मे (me) - to me, for me

(pronoun)

Dative, singular of aham

aham - I, me

Note: Enclitic form of dative/genitive singular of 'aham'.

व्याख्यातुम् (vyākhyātum) - to explain, to describe

(verb)

active, infinitive (tumun) of vyākhyātum

Infinitive

From root khyā (ख्या) with prefixes vi (वि) and ā (आ)

Prefixes: vi+ā

Root: khyā (class 2)

Note: Expresses purpose.

अर्हसि (arhasi) - you ought, you are able, you deserve

(verb)

2nd person , singular, active, present (laṭ) of arh

Present tense, second person singular

From root arh (अर्ह्), 1st class, Parasmaipada

Root: arh (class 1)

Note: Refers to the speaker's expectation from the listener (Vaiśampāyana).