Shloka 65

Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्

Devanagari script

कश्यप उवाच नैतस्थेह यथास्माकं चत्वारश्न सहोदरा: । देहि देहीति भिक्षन्ति तेन पीवाउछुना सह

Transliteration

kaśyapa uvāca | naitastheha yathāsmākaṃ catvāraś ca sahodarāḥ | dehi dehīti bhikṣanti tena pīvau chunā saha |

Translation

قال كاشيابا: «ليس هذا “سمينًا” على نحو ما نحن عليه. لنا أربعة إخوة من أمّ واحدة، وكل يوم يستعطوننا قائلين: “أعطِ، أعطِ!” لذلك نحمل عبءَ إطعام بيتٍ كبير وكسوته. أمّا هذا الزاهد المتجرّد فلا يحمل مثل هذا القلق؛ ومن ثمّ فهو حسنُ التغذية، وإن لم ينل إلا طعامًا خشنًا، مع كلبه.»

Word by Word

• {'kaśyapa uvāca': 'Kashyapa said', 'na etastha iha': 'not like this here

• not in this manner', 'yathā asmākam': 'as (it is) for us', 'catvāraḥ': 'four', 'sahodarāḥ': 'uterine brothers

• brothers born of the same mother', 'dehi dehīti': '‘give, give!’ (repeated plea)', 'bhikṣanti': 'they beg

• they ask for alms', 'tena': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'pīva': 'fat

• stout', 'chunā': 'with coarse food

• with rough fare (i.e., simple, unrefined sustenance)', 'saha': 'together with'}

Speaker

कश्यप उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kaśyapa
• four brothers (sahodarāḥ)
• a renunciant/saṃnyāsin
• dog

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kashyapa contrasts the householder’s obligations—supporting dependents who constantly ask for provisions—with the renunciant’s freedom from such anxieties. The point is that contentment and ‘well-being’ can arise from reduced attachment and responsibility, not from abundance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kashyapa explains why a renunciant appears comparatively well-nourished: unlike Kashyapa’s situation, where four brothers depend on him for daily sustenance, the ascetic has no large household to maintain and thus can live simply—sharing coarse food even with a dog—without the stress of provisioning many.