Shloka 4

उत्तङ्कोपाख्यानम् — Maṇi-Kuṇḍala Retrieval and Entry into Nāgaloka

Chapter 57

Devanagari script

उत्तड़क उवाच राजन गुर्वर्थिनं विद्धि चरन्तं मामिहागतम्‌ । न च गुर्वर्थमुद्युक्त हिंस्पमाहुर्मनीषिण:

Transliteration

Uttaṅka uvāca: rājan gurv-arthinaṃ viddhi carantaṃ mām ihāgatam | na ca gurv-artham udyuktaṃ hiṃsam āhur manīṣiṇaḥ ||

Translation

Uttaṅka said: “O King, know me to be one who seeks to fulfill his teacher’s purpose; I have come here while wandering in pursuit of that. The wise declare that one who is earnestly engaged in obtaining what is due for the teacher should not be harmed.”

Word by Word

• {'rājan': 'O king (vocative of rājan)', 'gurv-arthinam (guru-arthinam)': 'one seeking/acting for the teacher’s purpose

• one seeking guru’s due (esp. guru-dakṣiṇā)', 'viddhi': 'know (imperative of √vid)', 'carantam': 'wandering, moving about

• pursuing (present participle of √car)', 'mām': 'me', 'iha': 'here', 'āgatam': 'come, arrived (past participle of √gam with ā-)', 'na ca': 'and not

• moreover not', 'gurv-artham (guru-artham)': 'for the teacher’s purpose

• for the sake of the guru', 'udyuktam': 'one who is engaged/striving, intent upon (past participle of ud-√yuj)', 'hiṃsam': 'harm

• (to) injure/kill (accusative of hiṃsā / object of ‘āhuḥ’ in sense ‘(one) to be harmed’ negated)', 'āhuḥ': 'they say, they declare (3rd pl. perfect of √ah)', 'manīṣiṇaḥ': 'the wise, sages

Speaker

उत्तड़क उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Uttaṅka
• King (rājan)
• Guru (teacher)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person sincerely striving to fulfill a teacher’s claim—especially in the context of collecting guru-dakṣiṇā—deserves protection; harming such a duty-bound seeker is condemned by the wise.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttaṅka identifies himself to the king as a wandering seeker acting for his guru’s requirement and invokes a recognized ethical norm: that one engaged in securing the guru’s due should not be injured.