Shloka 39

आदि पर्व — अध्याय ८३: ययाति-इन्द्र-संवादः तथा अष्टक-प्रश्नः

Yayāti–Indra Dialogue and Aṣṭaka’s Inquiry

Devanagari script

शुक्र उवाच नाहं मृषा ब्रवीम्येतज्जरां प्राप्तोड्सि भूमिप | जरां त्वेतां त्वमन्यस्मिन्‌ संक्रामय यदीच्छसि,शुक्राचार्यजीने कहा--भूमिपाल! मैं झूठ नहीं बोलता; बूढ़े तो तुम हो ही गये; किंतु तुम्हें इतनी सुविधा देता हूँ कि यदि चाहो तो किसी दूसरेसे जवानी लेकर इस बुढ़ापाको उसके शरीरमें डाल सकते हो

Transliteration

śukra uvāca | nāhaṃ mṛṣā bravīmy etaj jarāṃ prāpto 'si bhūmipa | jarāṃ tv etāṃ tvam anyasmin saṅkrāmaya yadīcchasi ||

Translation

Śukra said: “I do not speak falsely in this matter, O king. You have indeed been overtaken by old age. Yet I grant you this option: if you wish, transfer this very old age into another person.”

Word by Word

• {'śukra uvāca': 'Śukra said', 'na': 'not', 'aham': 'I', 'mṛṣā': 'falsely, untruth', 'bravīmi': 'I speak, I say', 'etat': 'this (matter/statement)', 'jarā': 'old age, senescence', 'prāptaḥ asi': 'you have attained/been overtaken by', 'bhūmipa': 'protector of the earth

• king', 'tvām': 'you', 'anyasmin': 'in another (person)', 'saṅkrāmaya': 'cause to pass over

• transfer', 'yadi icchasi': 'if you wish'}

Speaker

शुक्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śukra (Śukrācārya)
• Bhūmipa (the king addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Śukra emphasizes satya (truthfulness) while highlighting the ethical weight of extraordinary power: even when offering a boon-like option, he frames it as a choice that shifts suffering (old age) onto another, prompting reflection on responsibility and the consequences of desire.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a dialogue with a king, Śukra states that the king has already reached old age and then offers a remarkable possibility—if the king desires, he may transfer that old age into someone else—setting up a moral and narrative tension about exchanging youth and senescence.