Shloka 53

Devanagari script

कच्चित्‌ पुरुषकारेण पुरुष: कर्म शोभयन्‌ । लभते मानमधिकं भूयो वा भक्तवेतनम्‌,(तुम्हारे यहाँ काम करनेवाला) कोई पुरुष अपने पुरुषार्थसे जब किसी कार्यको अच्छे ढंगसे सम्पन्न करता है, तब वह आपसे अधिक सम्मान अथवा अधिक भत्ता और वेतन पाता है न?

Transliteration

kaccit puruṣakāreṇa puruṣaḥ karma śobhayann | labhate mānam adhikaṃ bhūyo vā bhaktavetanaṃ ||

Translation

Dijo Nārada: «Dime: aquí, cuando un hombre, por su propia iniciativa y esfuerzo, cumple una tarea con destreza y acierto, ¿recibe de ti mayor honor, o bien un aumento de asignación y salario?»

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether?, I hope (interrogative particle)

पुरुषकारेणby personal effort/initiative

पुरुषःa man/person

कर्मwork/task

शोभयन्adorning/doing well; making (it) excellent

लभतेobtains/gets

मानम्honour/respect

अधिकम्more/greater

भूयःagain; rather; more (alternatively)

वाor

भक्तवेतनम्rations and wages (allowance and salary)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse probes ethical governance: competent work done with personal initiative should be recognized—either through increased honor or through tangible remuneration—highlighting merit-based reward as a principle of just administration.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is questioning a ruler/householder about how workers are treated: when someone completes a task well through his own effort, does he receive greater respect or increased allowance and wages?