Shloka 78

Adhyāya 90: Babhruvāhana’s Reception and the Commencement of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

अवेक्ष्या इति कृत्वाहं दृढ्भक्तेति वा द्विज । चिन्त्या ममेयमिति वा सक्तूनादातुमहसि,अतः आप मुझे अपना दृढ़ भक्त, रक्षणीय और विचारणीय मानकर अतिथिको देनेके लिये यह सत्तू स्वीकार कीजिये

Transliteration

avekṣyeti kṛtvāhaṃ dṛḍha-bhakteti vā dvija | cintyā mameyam iti vā saktūn ādātum arhasi | ataḥ āpa mām ātmanaḥ dṛḍha-bhaktaṃ rakṣaṇīyaṃ ca vicāraṇīyaṃ ca matvā atithaye dātum idaṃ saktūṃs svīkuru ||

Translation

«يا براهمن، سواءٌ نظرتَ إليّ على أني أستجير بك، أو على أني من عبادك المخلصين الثابتين، أو على أني ممن يستحقون عنايتك وتفكّرك—فاقبلْ هذه الحبوب/الدقيق المحمّص (سَتّو). فاعتبرني تابعةً لك بإخلاص، جديرةً بالحماية والاعتبار، وتسلّم هذا السَّتّو لتقدّمه لضيفك.»

Word by Word

अवेक्ष्यhaving considered / having looked at

इतिthus

कृत्वाhaving done

अहम्I

दृढभक्तःa firm devotee

इतिthus

वाor

द्विजO brahmin

चिन्त्याto be thought of / worthy of consideration

ममof me / my

इयम्this (f.)

इतिthus

वाor

सक्तून्parched flour / sattu

आदातुम्to take / to accept

अर्हसिyou ought / you are fit

अतःtherefore

Speaker

श्षशुर उवाच

Characters & Entities

dvija (brāhmaṇa)

atithi (guest)

saktūn (sattu; roasted grain meal)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds atithi-dharma and compassionate giving: even a small, simple offering (saktu) becomes ethically weighty when given with humility, devotion, and concern for another’s duty to honor a guest.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker addresses a brāhmaṇa, urging him to accept a humble food offering (sattu). The acceptance is framed not as personal consumption but as enabling proper hospitality toward an arriving guest, emphasizing protection and considerate regard for the giver.