Shloka 29

पितृयज्ञे नारायणतत्त्वम् — The Nārāyaṇa Grounding of Ancestral Offerings

Devanagari script

ततः प्रतिवचो देयं सर्वरेव समाहितै: । एतन्मे स्नेहत: सर्वे वचन कर्तुमर्हथ

Transliteration

tataḥ prativaco deyaṃ sarvair eva samāhitaiḥ | etan me snehataḥ sarve vacanaṃ kartum arhatha |

Translation

Da sagte Śuka: „Ihr alle sollt, ganz aufmerksam und gesammelt, die Antwort in meinem Namen geben. Aus Zuneigung zu mir sollt ihr diese eine Sache tun, um die ich bitte: Wenn mein Vater hierher kommt und mich beim Namen ruft, dann antwortet ihm behutsam von meiner Seite.“

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• प्रतिवचः: a reply/response
• प्रतिवचः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिवचस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• देयम्: to be given/should be given
• देयम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दा (धातु) → देय (कृदन्त, भाव्य/कर्तव्य)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• सर्वैः: by all
• सर्वैः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव
• Form: अव्यय

• समाहितैः: by the attentive/composed (ones)
• समाहितैः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाहित (सम्-आ-धा धातु से कृदन्त/विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• एतत्: this (request/thing)
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• मे: of me/my
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (सम्बन्धे), एकवचन

• स्नेहात्: out of affection
• स्नेहात्: Hetu (cause)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नेह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• सर्वे: all (of you)
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वचनम्: word/request
• वचनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कर्तुम्: to do/fulfil
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कर्तुम् (तुमुन्-अन्त, infinitive)
• Form: अव्यय (तुमुनन्त)

• अर्हथ: you ought/are fit
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्, मध्यमपुरुष, बहुवचन

Speaker

शुक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śuka (Śukadeva)
• Śuka's father (Vyāsa, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech should be guided by attentiveness and responsibility: even a simple reply, when given on another’s behalf, must be delivered with composure (samāhita) and loyalty (sneha), reflecting ethical care in communication.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śuka instructs those present (addressed as ‘all of you’) to remain alert and, if his father arrives calling him by name, to respond carefully on Śuka’s behalf—showing a moment of deliberate arrangement in a sensitive father–son context.