Shloka 9

Daṇḍa, Ahiṃsā, and Proportional Kingship: The Dyumatsena–Satyavān Dialogue (दण्ड-अहिंसा-विवेकः)

Devanagari script

आम्नायवचनं सत्यमित्ययं लोकसंग्रह: । आम्नायेभ्य: पुनर्वेदा: प्रसृता: सर्वतोमुखा:,वेदोंका वचन सत्य है, यह कथन लोकरंजनमात्र है। वेदोंसे ही सर्वतोमुखी स्मृतियोंका प्रचार और प्रसार हुआ है

Transliteration

āmnāya-vacanaṁ satyam ity ayaṁ loka-saṅgrahaḥ | āmnāyebhyaḥ punaḥ vedāḥ prasṛtāḥ sarvato-mukhāḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “That ‘the utterance of the sacred tradition is true’—this, people repeat as a maxim for maintaining social order. Yet it is from the transmitted tradition itself that the Vedas have spread forth in every direction, taking many forms and voices.”

Word by Word

आम्नायवचनम्the statement of tradition (āmnāya)

सत्यम्true

इतिthus/so (quotative)

अयम्this

लोकसंग्रहःpopular acceptance / holding together of people

आम्नायेभ्यःfrom the traditions (āmnāyas)

पुनःagain / further

वेदाःthe Vedas

प्रसृताःspread forth / propagated

सर्वतोमुखाःhaving faces in all directions; manifold

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Vedas

Āmnāya (tradition)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes