Shloka 7

कपिल–स्यूमरश्मि संवादः

Kapila and Syūmaraśmi on Renunciation, Householder Support, and Epistemic Authority

Devanagari script

परच्छिन्नै: काष्ठतृणैर्मयेदं शरणं कृतम्‌ | अतक्तं पद्मकं तुड़ गन्धांश्लोच्चावचांस्तथा

Transliteration

tulādhāra uvāca | paracchinnaiḥ kāṣṭha-tṛṇair mayedaṃ śaraṇaṃ kṛtam | alaktakaṃ padmakaṃ tuṅga-gandhāṃś ca uccāvacāṃs tathā |

Translation

Tulādhāra said: “This shelter of mine has been made from wood and grass cut by others. Likewise, items such as alaktaka, padmaka, tuṅga-wood, sandalwood and other fragrant substances—things of many kinds, small and great—I obtain from others through trade.”

Word by Word

• {'tulādhāraḥ': 'Tulādhāra (a merchant

• literally ‘bearer of the balance/scale’)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'paracchinnaiḥ': 'cut by others

• obtained through others’ labor', 'kāṣṭha': 'wood, timber', 'tṛṇa': 'grass, straw', 'mayā': 'by me', 'idam': 'this', 'śaraṇam': 'shelter, dwelling, refuge', 'kṛtam': 'made, constructed', 'alaktakam': 'alaktaka

• here treated as a trade good)', 'padmakam': 'padmaka

• a fragrant wood (commonly associated with a variety of Prunus used in perfumery)', 'tuṅga': 'tuṅga-wood

• a kind of timber used as a trade commodity', 'gandhān': 'fragrances

• fragrant substances', 'uccāvacān': 'of various kinds

• high and low, great and small', 'tathā': 'and also

Speaker

तुलाधार उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Tulādhāra
• śaraṇa (dwelling/shelter)
• kāṣṭha (wood)
• tṛṇa (grass/straw)
• alaktaka
• padmaka
• tuṅga (wood)
• candana (sandalwood; implied by the Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Tulādhāra frames ethical livelihood as dharma: he lives without forcibly taking resources, using materials and goods obtained through others and through exchange. The emphasis is on restraint, non-appropriation, and moral accountability in ordinary economic life.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s didactic dialogue, Tulādhāra explains his way of life. He describes how his home is built from wood and grass cut by others and how he trades in fragrant woods and substances, using this as a concrete example of living without violence or exploitation.