Shloka 18

Saṃvaraṇa’s Petition and Tapatī’s Conditioned Consent (सम्वरण-तपती संवादः)

Devanagari script

गुरुणा चाननुज्ञातो ग्राहयेद्‌ यत्‌ सुतो मम । न स कुर्यात्‌ तथा कार्य विद्ययेति सतां मतम्‌,और यदि मेरा पुत्र गुरुकी आज्ञा लिये बिना अपना मन्त्र किसीको सिखा देगा तो वह सीखनेवाला मनुष्य उस मन्त्रसे वैसा कार्य नहीं कर सकेगा, जैसा मेरा पुत्र कर लेता है। इस विषयमें साधु पुरुषोंका ऐसा ही मत है

Transliteration

guruṇā cānanujñāto grāhayet yat suto mama | na sa kuryāt tathā kāryaṃ vidyeti satāṃ matam ||

Translation

قال البراهمن: «لو أن ابني، من غير أن يستأذن معلّمه أولًا، علّم مانتراه لأحدٍ، فإن من يتعلّمها لن يقدر أن يُنجز بها الأثر النافذ نفسه الذي ينجزه ابني. فذلك هو الرأي المتروّي عند أهل الفضيلة.»

Word by Word

[{'term''guruṇā', 'definition': 'by the teacher

instrumental singular of guru'}, {'term''ca', 'definition': 'and'}, {'term': 'ananujñātaḥ', 'definition': 'not permitted

not authorized (especially by a teacher)'}, {'term''grāhayet', 'definition': 'should cause to learn

should teach (causative/optative sense)'}, {'term''yat', 'definition': 'if/that (introducing the conditional clause)'}, {'term': 'sutaḥ', 'definition': 'son'}, {'term': 'mama', 'definition': 'my'}, {'term': 'na', 'definition': 'not'}, {'term': 'saḥ', 'definition': 'he

that person (the learner)'}, {'term''kuryāt', 'definition': 'would do

would be able to perform/accomplish'}, {'term''tathā', 'definition': 'in that manner

to the same extent'}, {'term''kāryam', 'definition': 'the intended act/effect

the work to be accomplished'}, {'term''vidyā', 'definition': 'knowledge

(here) mantra-knowledge/occult efficacy'}, {'term''iti', 'definition': 'thus

marking quoted opinion'}, {'term''satām', 'definition': 'of the good/virtuous

of the righteous'}, {'term''matam', 'definition': 'opinion

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (the brāhmaṇa speaker)

ग

गुरु (teacher)

स

सुत (son)

म

मन्त्र/विद्या (mantra, sacred knowledge)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred knowledge—especially mantra-vidyā—should be transmitted only with the teacher’s authorization; otherwise its efficacy is believed to diminish, and the act becomes ethically improper within the guru–śiṣya code.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa explains a norm of conduct: if his son were to teach a mantra without the guru’s consent, the recipient would not achieve the same results. He supports this by appealing to the accepted opinion of the virtuous (satām matam).