Shloka 24

Devanagari script

तत्रैनमुपतिष्ठन्ति ब्राह्मणा धनहेतुना । नादेयं तस्य तत्काले किज्चिदस्ति द्विजातिषु

Transliteration

tatrainam upatiṣṭhanti brāhmaṇā dhanahetunā | nādeyaṃ tasya tatkāle kiñcid asti dvijātiṣu ||

Translation

Dort traten Brahmanen an ihn heran und standen ihm bei, vom Verlangen nach Reichtum getrieben. Doch zu jener Zeit besaß er überhaupt nichts, was den Zweimalgeborenen als Gabe hätte dargebracht werden können—keine angemessene Opfergabe stand ihm zur Verfügung.

Word by Word

तत्रthere

एनम्him

उपतिष्ठन्तिapproach/attend upon

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

धनहेतुनाfor the sake of wealth / due to wealth as motive

नnot

आदेयम्to be taken/acceptable (as a gift)

तस्यof him / for him

तत्that

कालेat the time

किञ्चित्anything

अस्तिis/exists

द्विजातिषुamong the twice-born (Brahmins etc.)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)

dvijāḥ (twice-born)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between approaching someone for material gain and the reality that a patron may be unable to give. It implicitly contrasts motive-driven attendance (seeking wealth) with the dharmic ideal of approaching with sincerity, while also acknowledging that giving (dāna) depends on actual capacity and circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the described situation, Brahmins come to attend upon a man (referred to as 'him') hoping for gifts or wealth. However, at that moment he possesses nothing suitable to offer as a gift to the dvijas, so their expectation cannot be fulfilled.