Shloka 29

Devanagari script

अस्थिभूतो यदा राजा निर्मासो रुधिरस्रव: । तुलां ततः: समारूढ: स्वं मांसक्षयमुत्सूजन्‌,जब राजाके शरीरका मांस चुक गया और रक्तकी धारा बहाता हुआ हड्डियोंका ढाँचामात्र रह गया तब वे मांस काटनेका काम बंद करके स्वयं ही तराजूपर चढ़ गये

Transliteration

asthibhūto yadā rājā nirmāso rudhirasravaḥ | tulāṃ tataḥ samārūḍhaḥ svaṃ māṃsakṣayam utsṛjan |

Translation

Als der König zu einem bloßen Gerüst aus Knochen herabgemagert war — sein Fleisch erschöpft, das Blut noch fließend —, hörte er auf, weiteres Fleisch abzuschneiden, und stieg, den vollständigen Verlust seines eigenen Leibes annehmend, selbst auf die Waage. Die Begebenheit hebt das ethische Ideal der Selbstaufopferung hervor: Der Herrscher wählt, die Kosten persönlich zu tragen, statt in der Pflicht zu Mitgefühl und Wahrhaftigkeit zu versagen, die die Prüfung verlangt.

Word by Word

अस्थिभूतःbecome (like) bones; reduced to a skeleton

यदाwhen

राजाthe king

निर्मांसःwithout flesh

रुधिरस्रावःbleeding; having a flow of blood

तुलाम्the balance/scale

ततःthen; thereafter

समारूढःhaving mounted/ascended

स्वम्his own

मांसक्षयम्wasting away of flesh; loss of flesh

उत्सृजन्abandoning; giving up; letting go

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

श

श्येन (the hawk, speaker)

र

राजा (the king)

त

तुला (weighing scale/balance)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma expressed as radical self-giving: when compassion and truth are tested, the righteous person accepts personal suffering rather than abandon a moral commitment. The king’s willingness to offer himself embodies the priority of ethical duty over bodily attachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the hawk’s narration, the king has been cutting and offering his own flesh in a weighing test. When he is reduced to bones and bleeding, he stops further cutting and instead steps onto the scale himself, offering his whole body to fulfill the demanded equivalence.