Shloka 45

Devanagari script

वृद्धावमन्तु: परुषस्य चैव कि ते चिरं मे हानुसृत्य रूक्षम्‌ । गच्छाम्यहं वनमेवाद्य पाप: सुखं भवान्‌ वर्ततां मद्वधिहीन:,“मैं बड़े बूढ़ोंका अनादर करनेवाला और कठोर हूँ। तुम्हें मेरी रूखी बातोंका दीर्घकालतक अनुसरण करनेकी क्या आवश्यकता है। मैं पापी आज वनमें ही चला जा रहा हूँ। तुम मुझसे अलग होकर सुखसे रहो

Transliteration

vṛddhāvamantuḥ paruṣasya caiva ki te ciraṃ me hānusṛtya rūkṣam | gacchāmy ahaṃ vanam evādya pāpaḥ sukhaṃ bhavān vartatāṃ madvadhihīnaḥ ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: “I am one who shows contempt for elders, and I am harsh as well. Why should you keep following my rough words for so long? I, a sinner, am going today to the forest alone. You should live happily, free from the burden of my death.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vṛddha', 'meaning': 'elder, senior (in age/status)'}, {'term': 'avamantuḥ (avamantṛ)', 'meaning': 'one who disrespects, contemner'}, {'term': 'paruṣa', 'meaning': 'harsh, severe, rude'}, {'term': 'ciraṃ', 'meaning': 'for a long time'}, {'term': 'anusṛtya', 'meaning': 'having followed, pursuing'}, {'term': 'rūkṣa', 'meaning': 'rough, abrasive, unpleasant (speech/behavior)'}, {'term': 'gacchāmi', 'meaning': 'I go, I am going'}, {'term': 'vanam', 'meaning': 'forest

• wilderness (place of withdrawal/exile)'}, {'term': 'adya', 'meaning': 'today, now'}, {'term': 'pāpaḥ', 'meaning': 'sinful person

• morally blameworthy'}, {'term': 'sukham', 'meaning': 'happily

• with ease'}, {'term': 'bhavān', 'meaning': 'you (honorific)'}, {'term': 'vartatām', 'meaning': 'may (you) remain/live/continue'}, {'term': 'mad-vadhi-hīnaḥ', 'meaning': 'free from my killing/death

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• forest (vana)
• elders (vṛddhāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Harsh speech and disrespect toward elders are treated as moral faults; the verse frames ethical self-judgment and the wish to spare others from the consequences of one’s wrongdoing, pointing to restraint in speech and accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports a speaker’s self-condemnation: he calls himself harsh and disrespectful, asks why the other person keeps enduring his rough words, and declares he will withdraw to the forest, urging the other to live peacefully without being entangled in his fate.