Shloka 24

अग्निनाम-वंश-निरूपणम् | Agni-Names and Lineage Enumeration

Devanagari script

अहिंसायां तु निरता यतयो द्विजसत्तम | कुर्वन्त्येव हि हिंसां ते यत्नादल्‍्पतरा भवेत्‌,द्विजश्रेष्ठी यतिलोग अहिंसा-धर्मके पालनमें तत्पर होते हैं, परंतु वे भी हिंसा कर ही डालते हैं (अर्थात्‌ उनके द्वारा भी हिंसा हो ही जाती है)। अवश्य ही यत्नपूर्वक चेष्टा करनेसे हिंसाकी मात्रा बहुत कम हो सकती है

Transliteration

ahiṃsāyāṃ tu niratā yatayo dvijasattama | kurvanty eva hi hiṃsāṃ te yatnād alpatarā bhavet ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „O Bester der Zweimalgeborenen, selbst Asketen, die der Gewaltlosigkeit ergeben sind, begehen tatsächlich Gewalt—unvermeidlich im Verlauf des Lebens und Handelns. Doch durch wachsame Achtsamkeit und bewusste Anstrengung kann diese Gewalt sehr gering werden.“

Word by Word

• {'ahiṃsāyām': 'in non-violence

• in the practice/observance of ahiṃsā (locative)', 'tu': 'but

• however (contrast/emphasis)', 'niratāḥ': 'engaged in

• intent upon', 'yatayaḥ': 'ascetics

• disciplined seekers', 'dvija-sattama': 'O best of the twice-born (honorific address to a brāhmaṇa)', 'kurvanti eva': 'they do indeed do

• they certainly perform', 'hi': 'for

• indeed (particle of emphasis/justification)', 'hiṃsām': 'violence

• harm', 'te': 'they', 'yatnāt': 'by effort

• with vigilance (ablative)', 'alpa-tarā': 'smaller

• minimal (comparative feminine)', 'bhavet': 'may become

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• dvijasattama (addressed brāhmaṇa)
• yatayaḥ (ascetics/renunciants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Absolute non-violence is extremely difficult in embodied life; even those committed to ahiṃsā may cause harm unintentionally. Dharma therefore emphasizes mindful restraint—through careful effort, the amount of harm can be reduced to the minimum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a brāhmaṇa and reflects on ethical practice: he notes that renunciants devoted to ahiṃsā still end up causing some harm, but disciplined vigilance can greatly lessen it. The statement frames ahiṃsā as an ideal approached through continual effort rather than a claim of perfect purity.