Shloka 189

आपद्धर्मनिर्णयः — विश्वामित्र-श्वपचसंवादः

Apaddharma Determination: Dialogue of Viśvāmitra and the Śvapaca

Devanagari script

त्वया हि वाच्यमानो<हं जहां प्राणान्‌ सबान्धव: । विश्रम्भो हि बुधैर्दृष्टो मद्विधेषु मनस्विषु

Transliteration

tvayā hi vācyamāno 'haṃ jahāṃ prāṇān sabāndhavaḥ | viśrambho hi budhair dṛṣṭo madvidheṣu manasviṣu ||

Translation

Lomaśa dit : «Si tu me le commandes seulement, je renoncerai même à ma vie pour toi, avec tous les miens. Car les sages ont constaté que les hommes de cœur comme moi sont dignes de confiance ; la confiance accordée à de tels êtres n’est pas mal placée.»

Word by Word

• {'tvayā': "by you

• by your agency (instrumental singular of 'tvam')", 'hi': 'indeed

• surely (emphatic particle)', 'vācyamānaḥ': 'being addressed/commanded

• being told (present passive participle from √vac)', 'aham': 'I', 'jahām': 'I would abandon

• I would give up (optative/volitional sense from √hā)', 'prāṇān': 'life-breaths

• vital powers (accusative plural)', 'sabāndhavaḥ': 'together with (my) relatives/kinsmen (sa- + bāndhava)', 'viśrambhaḥ': 'trust

• reliance', 'budhaiḥ': "by the wise

• by learned people (instrumental plural of 'budha')", 'dṛṣṭaḥ': 'seen

• recognized', 'madvidheṣu': 'in persons like me

• among those of my kind (mad-vidha)', 'manasviṣu': "in high-minded/spirited persons

Speaker

लोमश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa (लोमश)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical ideal: steadfast, high-minded people (manasvins) are to be trusted, and true loyalty may extend even to the willingness to sacrifice one’s life for a righteous cause or for one who rightly commands.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomaśa speaks in a tone of assurance and commitment, telling the listener that if instructed, he is prepared to give up his life along with his kin, and he justifies this by appealing to the recognized reliability of spirited, principled persons.