Shloka 30

Devanagari script

आशड्कय मद्वचो होतद्‌ धर्मलोपो भवेत्‌ तव | जातोऊसि प्रथिते वंशे कुरूणां भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

āśaṅkya mad-vaco hotad dharma-lopo bhavet tava | jāto ’si prathite vaṃśe kurūṇāṃ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Hablo así por temor a que, si dudas de mis palabras, tu dharma sufra una merma. Oh toro entre los Bharatas, has nacido en el renombrado linaje de los Kurus. Por ello, obra de manera digna de esa ilustre tradición familiar, guardando la rectitud y no dejando que decaiga por un malentendido.»

Word by Word

आशङ्क्यhaving suspected / fearing

मत्-वचःmy word(s) / my speech

होतत्the Hotṛ priest

धर्म-लोपःloss/decline of dharma

भवेत्might be / would occur

तवof you / your

जातःborn

असिyou are

प्रथितेin the renowned (lineage)

वंशेin the lineage

कुरूणाम्of the Kurus

भरत-ऋषभO bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kuru lineage (Kurūṇām)

Bharata lineage (Bharata)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Speech and counsel must be given with care so that it does not cause a ‘dharma-lopa’ (a lapse from righteousness). One’s conduct should align with the standards of one’s noble lineage—here, the famed Kuru-Bharata tradition—so that dharma is preserved rather than diminished.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, frames his statement as a corrective or clarifying counsel: he fears that his earlier words might be misconstrued and lead the listener into unrighteousness. He therefore reminds the addressee that, being born in the celebrated Kuru line, he must uphold dharma befitting that heritage.