Shloka 14

Manoḥ Carita

The Account of Manu Vaivasvata and the Mātsyaka Flood Narrative

Devanagari script

स्यादयं ब्राह्मण: सो5थ युष्माभियों विनाशित: । पुत्रो हयं मम नृपास्तपोबलसमन्वित:,फिर तो वे लज्जित होकर इधर-उधर उसकी खोज करने लगे। स्वप्नकी भाँति उनकी चेतना लुप्त-सी हो गयी। तब मुनिवर अरिष्टनेमिने उनसे कहा--“परपुरंजय! तुम लोगोंने जिसे मार डाला था, वह यही ब्राह्मण तो नहीं है? राजाओ! यह मेरा तपोबलसम्पन्न पुत्र है!

Transliteration

syād ayaṃ brāhmaṇaḥ so ’tha yuṣmābhir vināśitaḥ | putro ’yaṃ mama nṛpās tapobalasamanvitaḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Could this be the very brāhmaṇa whom you have destroyed? O kings, this is my son, endowed with the strength born of austerity.”

Word by Word

• {'syāt': 'might be

• could it be', 'ayam': 'this (person)', 'brāhmaṇaḥ': 'a brāhmaṇa

• priestly/learned man', 'saḥ': 'he

• that one', 'atha': 'then

• indeed', 'yuṣmābhiḥ': 'by you (plural, instrumental)', 'vināśitaḥ': 'destroyed

• brought to ruin', 'putraḥ': 'son', 'mama': 'my', 'nṛpāḥ': 'O kings', 'tapas': 'austerity

• ascetic practice', 'bala': 'strength

• power', 'samanvitaḥ': 'endowed with

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• brāhmaṇa
• kings (nṛpāḥ)
• Mārkaṇḍeya's son (putraḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power is not only political or martial: ascetic merit (tapas) carries moral and spiritual authority. The verse underscores the grave adharma of harming an innocent—especially a brāhmaṇa—and reminds rulers that their actions invite accountability beyond worldly law.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a group of kings, identifying the brāhmaṇa they believe they have destroyed and revealing him as Mārkaṇḍeya’s own son, endowed with ascetic power. The moment heightens the kings’ shame and signals that their deed has serious ethical and karmic implications.