Shloka 90

Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)

Devanagari script

स एवमुक्त: प्रत्युवाच किं ते प्रियं करवाणीति, एवमाहु:,गुरुके ऐसा कहनेपर उत्तंक बोले--“भगवन्‌! मैं आपका कौन-सा प्रिय कार्य करूँ? वृद्ध पुरुष कहते भी हैं

Transliteration

sa evam uktaḥ pratyuvāca: kiṁ te priyaṁ karavāṇīti; evam āhuḥ.

Translation

So angesprochen, erwiderte er seinerseits: „Ehrwürdiger Lehrer, welchen dir lieben Dienst soll ich dir erweisen?“ Denn die Alten sagen: Auf die Worte des Guru soll man mit Bereitschaft zum Dienst antworten und die Unterweisung durch ehrerbietiges Handeln vergelten.

Word by Word

सःhe

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been spoken to / addressed

प्रत्युवाचreplied

किम्what

तेfor you / to you

प्रियम्dear, pleasing

करवाणिshould I do / may I do

इतिthus (quotative)

एवम्thus

आहुःthey say / they have said

गुरवःelders, venerable persons

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Uttanka (implied by the narrative context)

Guru (teacher; implied addressee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical ideal of the student’s readiness to serve the teacher: learning is to be met with gratitude, humility, and a willingness to perform what is beneficial or pleasing to the guru, in line with the counsel of elders and tradition.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Uttanka episode, after being addressed by his teacher, the disciple responds by asking what service he can perform—an opening that leads into the request for a specific task (often framed as guru-dakṣiṇā or a test of obedience and resolve).