Shloka 11

Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant

Devanagari script

ध्तराष्ट्र रवाच गवां सहसत्नं भवते ददानि दासीशतं निष्कशतानि पञठ्च । अन्यच्च वित्त विविध॑ महर्षे कि ब्राह्मणस्येह गजेन कृत्यम्‌

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | gavāṁ sahasraṁ bhavate dadāni dāsīśataṁ niṣkaśatāni pañca | anyac ca vittaṁ vividhaṁ maharṣe kiṁ brāhmaṇasyeha gajena kṛtyam ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „O großer Weiser, ich will dir tausend Kühe geben, hundert Dienerinnen und fünfhundert Niṣkas (Goldstücke). Auch andere Arten von Reichtum will ich dir in Fülle darbringen. Doch sage mir: Wozu braucht ein Brāhmaṇa hier einen Elefanten?“

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'gavām': 'of cows', 'sahasram': 'a thousand', 'bhavate': 'to you (honorific dative)', 'dadāni': 'I give / I shall give', 'dāsī-śatam': 'a hundred maidservants', 'niṣka-śatāni': 'hundreds of niṣkas (gold ornaments/coins)', 'pañca': 'five', 'anyat ca': 'and other (also)', 'vittam': 'wealth', 'vividham': 'various, manifold', 'maharṣe': 'O great ṛṣi/sage (vocative)', 'kim': 'what?', 'brāhmaṇasya': 'for a brāhmaṇa', 'iha': 'here, in this context', 'gajena': 'with/by an elephant

• an elephant', 'kṛtyam': 'business, need, purpose, use'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Mahārṣi (unnamed sage addressed)
• cows (gāvaḥ)
• maidservants (dāsī)
• niṣka (gold pieces/ornaments)
• wealth (vitta)
• elephant (gaja)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights discernment in giving: gifts should suit the recipient’s dharma and practical needs. Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames dāna as abundant, yet questions the appropriateness of an elephant for a brāhmaṇa, pointing to the ethical idea that charity is not merely quantity but fitness (yogyatā) and purpose (kṛtya).

What is happening in the narrative?

Within Bhīṣma’s discourse on dharma, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to a great sage, offering substantial gifts—cows, maidservants, gold, and other wealth—while asking why a brāhmaṇa would need an elephant, implying a negotiation or clarification about what should be given and what is suitable.