Shloka 68

Aṣṭāvakra’s Visit to Kubera: Hospitality, Temptation, and the Ethics of Restraint (अष्टावक्र-वैश्रवणोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

कीटपक्षिपतड्ानां तिरश्षामपि केशव

Transliteration

kīṭa-pakṣi-pataṅgānāṁ tiraścām api keśava

Translation

Vāyu said: “O Keśava, even among insects, birds, and flying creatures—and even among beings of the animal realm—the moral law operates.”

Word by Word

• कीट: of insects
• कीट: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कीट
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पक्षि: of birds
• पक्षि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पक्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• पतङ्गानाम्: of flying creatures (moths/locusts etc.)
• पतङ्गानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तिरश्चाम्: of animals (non-human beings)
• तिरश्चाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तिरश्च्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• केशव: O Keshava (Krishna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyu)
• केशव (Keśava/Kṛṣṇa)
• कीट (insects)
• पक्षि (birds)
• पतङ्ग (winged creatures)
• तिरश्च (animals)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the universality of dharma and moral causality: ethical principles and the workings of order are not confined to humans but extend across all living beings, including animals and even small creatures.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu addresses Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), expanding the discussion to include non-human life—mentioning insects, birds, and animals—to emphasize that the topic under consideration (dharma/ethical order) applies broadly across creation.