Shloka 7

Adhyāya 348: Nāga–Nīgabhāryā Saṃvāda on Anger, Hope, and Ethical Response

Devanagari script

कथं नाम भवेद्‌ द्वेष्प आत्मा लोकस्य कस्यचित्‌

Transliteration

kathaṁ nāma bhaved dveṣya ātmā lokasya kasyacit

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “How could one’s own self ever become an object of hatred to anyone in the world?”

Word by Word

• कथम्: how?
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कथम्

• नाम: indeed/ever (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नाम

• भवेत्: could be / would become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Vidhi-ling (optative), present-system, 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada

• द्वेष्यः: hateful; to be hated
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वेष्य
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• आत्मा: self
• आत्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• लोकस्य: of the world/people
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• कस्यचित्: of anyone (of some person)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: कश्चित्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• ātmā (the self)
• loka (the world/people)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical-reflective question: a person should live so that their very self is not rendered “dveṣya” (worthy of hatred) to others. It points toward self-governance and dharmic conduct—since one’s character and actions determine whether one becomes agreeable or detestable in society.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, in the didactic flow of the Śānti Parva, poses a rhetorical question to advance a moral discussion. The line functions as a prompt for examining how behavior, motives, and adherence to dharma affect one’s standing among people.