Shloka 28

अश्वमेधावसानम् — Dakṣiṇā-vibhāga and Avabhṛtha

Completion of the Aśvamedha

Devanagari script

धर्मवैतंसिको यस्तु पापात्मा पुरुषाधम: । ददाति दान विप्रेभ्यो लोकविश्वासकारणम्‌,जो धर्मध्वजी, पापात्मा एवं नराधम है, वह लोकमें अपना विश्वास जमानेके लिये ब्राह्मणोंको दान देता है, धर्मके लिये नहीं

Transliteration

dharmavaitāṁsiko yas tu pāpātmā puruṣādhamaḥ | dadāti dāna viprebhyo lokaviśvāsakāraṇam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sagte: „Jener Mann — ein bloßer Heuchler des Dharma, im Herzen sündig und der Niedrigste unter den Menschen — gibt den Brahmanen Gaben nur, um das Vertrauen der Welt zu gewinnen, nicht aus wahrer Hingabe an die Rechtschaffenheit.“

Word by Word

धर्मवैतंसिकःone who makes a show/ornament of dharma (a hypocrite)

यःwho

तुbut/indeed

पापात्माsinful-souled person

पुरुषाधमःlowest of men

ददातिgives

दानम्a gift/charity

विप्रेभ्यःto the brahmins

लोकविश्वासकारणम्for the sake of gaining public trust

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Brahmins (vipra)

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 distinguishes outward religious acts from inner righteousness: charity (dāna) done to gain reputation or public trust is ethically tainted when the giver is hypocritical and lacks genuine dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana characterizes a certain type of person—a dharma-pretender—explaining that such a man gives gifts to Brahmins not as true piety but as a strategy to secure social credibility.