Shloka 20

Devanagari script

आसीनमाश्रमे तत्र जैगीषव्यमपश्यत । न व्याहरति चैवेनं जैगीषव्य: कथंचन

Transliteration

āsīnam āśrame tatra jaigīṣavyam apaśyata | na vyāharati caivainaṃ jaigīṣavyaḥ kathaṃcana ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Allí, sentado en el āśrama, lo vio a Jaigīṣavya. Pero Jaigīṣavya no le dirigió palabra alguna—permaneció por completo en silencio. El instante subraya la disciplina ascética de la contención del habla: el silencio puede significar recogimiento interior, desapego o una deliberada no participación, más que descortesía.

Word by Word

आसीनम्seated

आश्रमेin the hermitage

तत्रthere

जैगीषव्यम्Jaigīṣavya (proper name)

अपश्यतsaw

नnot

व्याहरतिspeaks, utters

चand

एवindeed, at all

एनम्him

जैगीषव्यःJaigīṣavya

कथंचनin any way, at all

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Jaigīṣavya

Āśrama (hermitage)

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 highlights restraint of speech as an ascetic virtue: silence (mauna) can be a form of discipline and detachment, indicating inward focus and freedom from impulsive engagement.

What is happening in the narrative?

A visitor arrives at a hermitage and sees the sage Jaigīṣavya seated there, but the sage does not speak to him in any manner, maintaining complete silence.