Shloka 26

Devanagari script

तेनेह क्षुधितेनाद्य श्रान्तेन च तपस्विना । अजानता कृतं मन्ये व्रतमेतदिदं मम,वे आज भूखे और थके-माँदे यहाँ आये थे। वे तपस्वी नरेश मेरे इस मौन-व्रतको नहीं जानते थे; मैं समझता हूँ इसीलिये उन्होंने मेरे साथ ऐसा बर्ताव कर दिया

Transliteration

teneiha kṣudhitenādya śrāntena ca tapasvinā | ajānatā kṛtaṃ manye vratam etad idaṃ mama ||

Translation

“Creo que lo ocurrido aquí hoy fue hecho sin saberlo por ese asceta, hambriento y fatigado. No conocía mi voto de silencio; por eso, pienso que se comportó conmigo de ese modo.”

Word by Word

तेनby him/therefore (by that person)

इहhere

क्षुधितेनby (one who is) hungry

अद्यtoday/now

श्रान्तेनby (one who is) weary

चand

तपस्विनाby an ascetic

अजानताby (one who is) not knowing

कृतम्done; an act (done)

मन्येI think

व्रतम्vow/observance

एतत्this

इदम्this (here)

ममof me/my

Speaker

शमीक उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śamīka (speaker)

the hungry and weary ascetic (implied visitor, i.e., Parīkṣit in the narrative context)

vow of silence (mauna-vrata)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Śamīka interprets the offense against him as unintentional, caused by hunger and fatigue and by ignorance of his vow of silence. The ethical emphasis is on charitable interpretation, restraint from anger, and judging actions with attention to circumstances and intent.

What is happening in the narrative?

After being treated disrespectfully, Śamīka explains that the visitor likely acted without knowing that Śamīka was observing silence. He attributes the behavior to the visitor’s hunger and exhaustion, framing the incident as a misunderstanding rather than deliberate malice.