Shloka 29

Aṣṭāvakra–Kahoda Upākhyāna: Śvetaketu’s Āśrama, Sarasvatī, and the Origin of Aṣṭāvakra

Devanagari script

श्येन उवाच इन्द्रोडहमस्मि धर्मज्ञ कपोतो हव्यवाडयम्‌ । जिज्ञासमानोौ धर्म त्वां यज्ञवाटमुपागतौ

Transliteration

śyena uvāca indro ’ham asmi dharmajña kapoto havyavāḍ ayam | jijñāsamānau dharma tvāṁ yajñavāṭam upāgatau ||

Translation

El halcón dijo: «Oh conocedor del dharma, yo soy Indra, y esta paloma es Agni, el portador de las oblaciones. Hemos venido a tu recinto sacrificial para poner a prueba y comprender tu compromiso con el dharma.»

Word by Word

श्येनःthe hawk

उवाचsaid

इन्द्रःIndra

उडहम्a hawk (as prey-bird) / the hawk-form

अस्मिI am

धर्मज्ञO knower of dharma

कपोतःthe pigeon/dove

हव्यवाटःHavyavāṭa (proper name)

अयम्this

जिज्ञासमानौthe two (of us) wishing to know/inquiring

धर्मम्dharma

त्वाम्you

यज्ञवाटम्Yajñavāṭa (proper name)

उपागतौhaving approached / having come near (the two of us)

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śyena (hawk)

Indra

Kapota (pigeon/dove)

Agni (as Havyavāṭ)

Yajñavāṭa (sacrificial enclosure)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is not merely declared but demonstrated under pressure; the gods themselves may test a person’s righteousness, especially where compassion, protection, and competing duties collide.

What is happening in the narrative?

The hawk reveals that he is Indra and that the pigeon is Agni; together they have come to the sacrificial enclosure to examine the addressee’s adherence to dharma by placing him in a moral trial.