Shloka 8

Vāraṇāvata-prasaṃsā and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure (वरणावत-प्रशंसा तथा पाण्डव-प्रयाणम्)

Devanagari script

मैवं जीर्णमुपास्स्व त्वं सख्यं भवत्वपाकृधि । आसीत्‌ सख्य॑ द्विजश्रेष्ठ त्वया मे5र्थनिबन्धनम्‌

Transliteration

maivaṁ jīrṇam upāssva tvaṁ sakhyaṁ bhavatv apākṛdhi | āsīt sakhyaṁ dvijaśreṣṭha tvayā me 'rthanibandhanam ||

Translation

Do not cling to a friendship that has grown old and worn out. Cast out from your heart the notion, ‘we are friends to one another.’ O best of Brahmins, the friendship I once had with you was bound to self-interest—formed for the sake of shared play, study, and similar advantages.

Word by Word

• {'mā': 'do not', 'evaṁ': 'thus

• in this manner', 'jīrṇa': 'worn out, decayed, old', 'upāssva (upās)': 'to resort to, cling to, rely upon', 'tvam': 'you', 'sakhyam': 'friendship', 'bhavatv': 'let it be

• may it become', 'apākṛdhi (apa-√kṛ)': 'remove, cast away', 'āsīt': 'was (imperfect of √as)', 'dvijaśreṣṭha': 'best of the twice-born (honorific for a Brahmin)', 'tvayā': 'by/with you', 'me': 'my

• for me', 'artha': 'purpose, advantage, self-interest', 'nibandhana': 'bond, tie, basis, cause'}

Speaker

हुपद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• हुपद (Hupada)
• dvijaśreṣṭha (a Brahmin addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse critiques friendship grounded in utility: when a relationship is sustained only by personal benefit, it becomes ‘worn out’ and should not be clung to; one should honestly discard the sentimental claim of friendship when its basis was merely advantage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Hupada addresses a Brahmin counterpart and repudiates their former bond, insisting that the earlier ‘friendship’ arose from shared activities like play and study and was therefore interest-driven rather than rooted in enduring goodwill.