Shloka 12

Saṃvaraṇa’s Petition and Tapatī’s Conditioned Consent (सम्वरण-तपती संवादः)

Devanagari script

श्रेयांस्तु सहदारस्य विनाशो5द्य मम स्वयम्‌ । ब्राह्मणस्य वधं नाहमनुमंस्थे कदाचन,आपद्धर्मके ज्ञाता प्राचीन महात्माओंने कहा है कि किसी प्रकार भी क्रूर एवं निन्दित कर्म नहीं करना चाहिये। अतः आज अपनी पत्नीके साथ स्वयं मेरा विनाश हो जाय, यह श्रेष्ठ है; किंतु ब्राह्यणवधकी अनुमति मैं कदापि नहीं दे सकता

Transliteration

śreyāṁs tu sahadārasya vināśo ’dya mama svayam | brāhmaṇasya vadhaṁ nāham anumamsthe kadācana ||

Translation

Dijo el brahmán: «Mejor, en verdad, que yo mismo perezca hoy junto con mi esposa; pues jamás, bajo ninguna circunstancia, puedo consentir la muerte de un brahmán. Los antiguos magnánimos, conocedores del dharma en tiempos de aflicción, han declarado que no debe cometerse de modo alguno un acto cruel y censurable».

Word by Word

[{'term''śreyān', 'definition': 'better

more conducive to the good (spiritually/ethically preferable)'}, {'term''sahadāra', 'definition': 'together with one’s wife (lit. ‘with spouse’)'}, {'term': 'vināśa', 'definition': 'destruction

death'}, {'term''adya', 'definition': 'today

now'}, {'term''svayam', 'definition': 'oneself

personally'}, {'term''brāhmaṇa', 'definition': 'a Brahmin

also a revered learned person'}, {'term''vadha', 'definition': 'killing

slaying'}, {'term''na aham', 'definition': 'I do not'}, {'term': 'anumamsthe (anu + √man)', 'definition': 'I approve

I allow'}, {'term''kadācana', 'definition': 'ever

at any time (with negation‘never’)'}, {'term': 'āpaddharma', 'definition': 'dharma in calamity/distress

emergency ethics'}, {'term''krūra', 'definition': 'cruel

harsh'}, {'term''nindita', 'definition': 'censured

condemned'}, {'term''prācīna', 'definition': 'ancient

of old tradition'}, {'term''mahātmā', 'definition': 'great-souled

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (a Brahmin speaker)

प

पत्नी/सहधर्मिणी (wife, implied by sahadāra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in distress (āpaddharma), one should not authorize acts that are intrinsically cruel and socially/religiously condemned—here, the killing of a Brahmin. The speaker prefers personal ruin with his wife over complicity in such a sin.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin, facing a crisis severe enough to contemplate death, declares that he would rather perish (even with his wife) than permit the slaying of a Brahmin, citing the authority of ancient sages who taught restraint and avoidance of blameworthy deeds even under pressure.