Shloka 493

Devanagari script

सक्तुप्रस्थचतुर्भागं गृहाणेमं प्रसीद मे । पतिके ऐसा कहनेपर ब्राह्मणी बोली--'ब्रह्मन! हम दोनोंके धर्म और अर्थ समान हैं

Transliteration

saktuprasthacaturbhāgaṃ gṛhāṇemaṃ prasīda me |

Translation

Nakula dijo: «Acepta, te lo ruego, esta cuarta parte de un prastha de harina de cebada tostada (sattu). Séme propicio». En el marco ético del episodio, el hablante ofrece incluso una porción exigua con humildad, poniendo la hospitalidad y la recta conducta (dharma) por encima de la escasez.

Word by Word

• सक्तु: of roasted flour (sattu)
• सक्तु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सक्तु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• प्रस्थ: of a prastha-measure
• प्रस्थ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• चतुर्भागम्: a fourth part (quarter share)
• चतुर्भागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्भाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गृहाण: take (accept)
• गृहाण: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• इमम्: this
• इमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रसीद: be pleased
• प्रसीद: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सद्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मे: of me / towards me
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

Speaker

नकुल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nakula
• saktu (sattu)
• prastha (measure)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in poverty, one should uphold atithi-dharma (duty to a guest) and practice generosity with humility; the moral worth lies in intention and sacrifice, not in the quantity given.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nakula urges acceptance of a small, precisely measured share of sattu, framing it as a sincere offering and requesting goodwill—highlighting a moment where scarce resources are still offered in the name of dharma.