Shloka 33

Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances

Devanagari script

अपराधीर्न तावन्तो भृत्या: शिष्टा नराधिपै: । उपघातैर्यथा भृत्या दूषिता निधनं गता:,राजाओंने किन्हीं वास्तविक अपराधोंके कारण उतने सेवकोंको दण्ड नहीं दिया होगा, जितने कि लोगोंके झूठे लगाये गये दोषोंसे कलंकित होकर राजाके हाथसे मारे गये हैं

Transliteration

aparādhīn na tāvanto bhṛtyāḥ śiṣṭā narādhipaiḥ | upaghātair yathā bhṛtyā dūṣitā dhanaṃ gatāḥ ||

Translation

Kings have not punished so many servants for genuine offences as those servants who, stained by false accusations, have been struck down by the ruler’s violence and brought to ruin.

Word by Word

अपराधीन्offenders, guilty persons

नnot

तावन्तःso many, that many

भृत्याःservants, attendants

शिष्टाःpunished, chastised

नराधिपैःby kings (lords of men)

उपघातैःby injuries/assaults, by attacks

यथाas, just as

भृत्याःservants

दूषिताःdefiled, tainted, falsely accused

निधनम्death, destruction

गताःwent to, reached (i.e., met with)

Speaker

शार्टूल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śārṭūla

narādhipa (kings/rulers)

bhṛtya (servants/retainers)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Righteous governance requires careful discernment: punishment should follow proven wrongdoing, not rumor or slander. When rulers act on false charges, the innocent suffer ruin, and the king’s justice becomes violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śārṭūla reflects on the plight of dependents at court: many servants are destroyed not for real crimes but because they are tainted by fabricated allegations, leading rulers to strike them down or ruin them through punitive action.