Shloka 75

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

अन्तर्जानुशयो यस्तु भुड्क्ते संसक्तभाजन: । यो द्विज: शब्दरहितं स क्षमस्तारणाय वै,जो द्विज अपने हाथोंको घुटनोंके भीतर किये मौनभावसे पात्रमें एक हाथ लगाये रखकर भोजन करता है, वह अपनेको और दूसरोंको तारनेमें समर्थ होता है

Transliteration

antarjānuśayo yastu bhuṅkte saṃsaktabhājanaḥ | yo dvijaḥ śabdarahitaṃ sa kṣamastāraṇāya vai ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “That brahmin who eats in silence, keeping his hands drawn within his knees and remaining closely attentive to his bowl, is truly capable of ‘ferrying across’—saving himself and also benefiting others.”

Word by Word

अन्तर्जानुशयःone whose hands are placed within the knees (knees enclosing the hands)

यःwho

तुbut/indeed

भुङ्क्तेeats

संसक्तभाजनःone whose bowl/vessel is held close/kept attached (kept close at hand)

यःwho

द्विजःa twice-born (brahmin)

शब्दरहितम्without sound; silently

सःhe

क्षमःcapable

तारणायfor saving/delivering (from sin)

वैindeed

यःwho

द्विजःa twice-born (brahmin)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

dvija (brahmin)

bhājana (food-bowl/vessel)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Inner restraint expressed through quiet, disciplined behavior—especially during basic acts like eating—signals mastery over the senses. Such self-control is presented as spiritually efficacious, enabling one to uplift oneself and serve as a support for others.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Yudhiṣṭhira’s discourse on dharma and proper conduct, he highlights a model brahmin whose silent, composed manner of eating exemplifies ascetic discipline. The verse uses this concrete behavioral marker to indicate a person’s fitness for spiritual ‘deliverance’ and guidance.