Shloka 2

Devanagari script

प्रातरेष्याम्यथेत्युक्त्वा कदाचिद्‌ द्विजसत्तम: | तत आयाति राजेन्द्र सायं रात्रावथो पुन:,राजेन्द्र! वे श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण कभी यह कहकर कि “मैं प्रातःकाल लौट आऊँगा” चल देते और सायंकाल अथवा बहुत रात बीतनेपर पुनः: वापस आते थे

Transliteration

prātareṣyāmy athety uktvā kadācid dvijasattamaḥ | tata āyāti rājendra sāyaṃ rātrāv atho punaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “At times that foremost of brāhmaṇas would depart after saying, ‘I shall return in the morning.’ Yet, O best of kings, he would come back only in the evening—or even after much of the night had passed.”

Word by Word

प्रातर्in the morning

एष्यामिI shall come

अथthen/and

इतिthus (quotative)

उक्त्वाhaving said

कदाचित्sometimes/once

द्विजसत्तमःthe best of the twice-born (brahmin)

ततःthen/from there

आयातिcomes/returns

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

सायम्in the evening

रात्रौat night

अथand/then

पुनःagain

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājendra (the king being addressed)

dvijasattamaḥ (an eminent Brahmin)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral weight of one’s stated intention—saying ‘I will return in the morning’ sets an expectation, and repeated delay invites scrutiny. It subtly raises questions about reliability, duty to one’s word, and the king’s responsibility to observe and judge conduct without haste.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a pattern: an eminent Brahmin leaves after promising a morning return, but actually comes back only in the evening or late at night. The king (addressed as rājendra) is being informed of this recurring behavior.