Shloka 52

कालयुक्तधर्मविवेकः

Discerning Dharma in Accord with Time

Devanagari script

पापेन कर्मणा देवि वध्यो हिंसारतिर्नर: । अप्रिय: सर्वभूतानां हीनायुरुपजायते

Transliteration

pāpena karmaṇā devi vadhyo hiṃsāratir naraḥ | apriyaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ hīnāyur upajāyate ||

Translation

Maheshvara dijo: «Oh Diosa, por obra pecaminosa, el hombre que se deleita en la violencia se vuelve digno de ser muerto; es odiado por todos los seres y nace con la vida acortada».

Word by Word

• पापेन: by/with sin
• पापेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• कर्मणा: by/with deed/action
• कर्मणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• देवि: O goddess/lady
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Vocative, Singular

• वध्यः: liable to be slain / killable
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वध्य (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त from √वध्/वध् ‘to kill’, sense ‘fit to be killed’)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हिंसारतिः: one who delights in violence
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हिंसारति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरः: man/person
• नरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अप्रियः: unpleasant / disliked
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वभूतानाम्: of all beings
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वभूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• हीनायुः: short-lived / having diminished lifespan
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीनायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उपजायते: is born/arises/comes to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जन् (धातु) with उप-; लट्, आत्मनेपद
• Form: Present (Lat), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada

Speaker

श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrīmaheśvara (Mahādeva/Śiva)
• Devī (the Goddess, addressed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Delighting in violence is itself a grave ethical fault: it makes a person blameworthy and punishable, alienates them from all living beings, and results in diminished well-being—expressed here as a shortened lifespan—through the moral law of karma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic setting, Maheshvara addresses Devī and states a general moral principle: sinful, violence-loving conduct brings social hatred and destructive consequences, contrasting with the implied ideal of dharmic, non-harmful behavior.