Shloka 16

Ṛśyaśṛṅga’s Luring, Rainfall at Aṅga, and Reconciliation with Vibhāṇḍaka (ऋश्यशृङ्गोपाख्यानम्)

Devanagari script

स वै श्रान्त: क्षुधित: काश्यपस्तान्‌ घोषान्‌ समासादितवान्‌ समृद्धान्‌ । गोपैश्न तैर्विधिवत्‌ पूज्यमानो राजेव तां रात्रिमुवास तत्र,थककर भूखसे पीड़ित होनेपर विभाण्डक मुनि सायंकालनमें उन्हीं समृद्धिशाली गोष्ठोंमें गये। गोपगणोंने उनकी विधिपूर्वक पूजा की। वे राजाकी भाँति सुख-सुविधाके साथ वहीं रातभर रहे

Transliteration

sa vai śrāntaḥ kṣudhitaḥ kāśyapas tān ghoṣān samāsāditavān samṛddhān | gopaiś ca tair vidhivat pūjyamāno rājā iva tāṃ rātrim uvāsa tatra ||

Translation

Worn out and hungry, the sage Kāśyapa (Vibhāṇḍaka) reached those prosperous cattle-settlements. The cowherds honored him in due form, and he spent the night there in comfort, like a king.

Word by Word

• {'sa': 'he', 'vai': 'indeed, emphatically', 'śrāntaḥ': 'weary, fatigued', 'kṣudhitaḥ': 'hungry', 'kāśyapaḥ': 'a descendant of Kaśyapa

• here the sage (Vibhāṇḍaka)', 'ghoṣān': 'cowherd settlements

• cattle-stations/villages', 'samāsāditavān': 'reached, arrived at', 'samṛddhān': 'prosperous, well-provided', 'gopaiḥ': 'by the cowherds', 'ca': 'and', 'taiḥ': 'by them', 'vidhivat': 'according to proper rule/ritual

• duly', 'pūjyamānaḥ': 'being honored, being worshipfully received', 'rājā iva': 'like a king', 'tām rātrim': 'that night', 'uvāsa': 'stayed, dwelt, spent (the night)', 'tatra': 'there'}

Speaker

विभाण्डक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vibhāṇḍaka (Kāśyapa)
• gopāḥ (cowherds)
• ghoṣāḥ (cowherd settlements)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights atithi-dharma: even ordinary pastoral communities sustain righteousness by welcoming and properly honoring a tired, hungry traveler—especially a sage—thereby turning prosperity into ethical responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vibhāṇḍaka, exhausted and hungry, arrives at prosperous cowherd settlements at evening. The cowherds receive and honor him according to custom, and he spends the night there comfortably, likened to a king.