Shloka 32

Takṣaka’s agency, Parīkṣit’s rites, and Janamejaya’s enthronement (वैयासिक परम्परा-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

पित्रा च तव तत्‌ कर्म नानुरूपमिवात्मन: । कृतं मुनिजनश्रेष्ठ येनाहं भूशदु:ःखित:,मुनिजनशिरोमणे! तुम्हारे पिताके द्वारा कोई अनुचित कर्म नहीं बना था; इसलिये जैसे मेरे ही पिताका अपमान हुआ हो उस प्रकार तुम्हारे पिताके तिरस्कारसे मैं अत्यन्त दुःखी हो रहा हूँ

Transliteration

pitrā ca tava tat karma nānurūpam ivātmanaḥ | kṛtaṃ munijanaśreṣṭha yenāhaṃ bhūśa-duḥkhitaḥ ||

Translation

Cet acte accompli par ton père semblait, pour ainsi dire, ne pas être conforme à sa vraie nature, ô le meilleur des sages. Aussi suis‑je accablé de chagrin—comme si mon propre père avait été déshonoré—en voyant ton père traité avec mépris.

Word by Word

पित्राby (your) father

चand

तवof you / your

तत्that

कर्मdeed, act

नnot

अनुरूपम्befitting, appropriate

इवas if, like

आत्मनःof oneself / of (his) own self

कृतम्done, made

मुनिजनश्रेष्ठO best among sages

येनby which

अहम्I

भूशदुःखितःone who is greatly distressed

मुनिजनशिरोमणेO crest-jewel among sages

Speaker

कृश उवाच

Characters & Entities

tava pitā (your father)

speaker: Kṛśa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical sensitivity: even when a fault is acknowledged, one should not respond with contempt. Dishonouring a respected elder—especially a father—causes deep moral pain to the virtuous, who feel another’s humiliation as their own.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛśa addresses a foremost sage, saying that the other’s father performed an act that seemed out of character, yet the speaker is profoundly distressed because the father has been slighted or disparaged—so much so that it feels like an insult to the speaker’s own father.