Shloka 2

Devanagari script

उपायं त॑ मम ब्रूहि येनैषा लभ्यते मतिः । तन्मन्ये कारण त्वत्तो यत एषा प्रवर्तते,अतः आप कोई ऐसा उपाय बताइये, जिससे मुझे भी यह बुद्धि प्राप्त हो। मेरा विश्वास है कि वह उपाय आपहीसे ज्ञात हो सकता है

Transliteration

upāyaṃ ta mama brūhi yenaiṣā labhyate matiḥ | tan manye kāraṇaṃ tvatto yata eṣā pravartate |

Translation

The Brahmin said: “Tell me the means by which such understanding may be attained by me as well. I am convinced that the cause of this—whence this insight arises—is known to you; therefore, instruct me in the method.”

Word by Word

• {'upāyam': 'means, method, practical remedy', 'mama': 'to me, my', 'brūhi': 'tell (imperative), explain', 'yena': 'by which, through which', 'eṣā': 'this (feminine

• here referring to the insight/understanding)', 'labhyate': 'is obtained, is attained', 'matiḥ': 'understanding, intelligence, discernment', 'tat': 'that', 'manye': 'I think, I consider', 'kāraṇam': 'cause, reason', 'tvattaḥ': 'from you, by you', 'yataḥ': 'from which, whence', 'pravartate': 'arises, proceeds, becomes active'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (a Brahmin speaker)
• tvam (the addressed interlocutor, unnamed here)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True understanding (mati) is not merely accidental; it has a discernible cause and can be approached through an upāya (method). The verse models humility and the ethical stance of seeking guidance from one believed to possess the source of insight.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin addresses another person (implicitly a teacher or wise interlocutor) and requests instruction: he asks for the practical means to gain the same kind of insight, asserting that the other knows the cause from which that insight arises.