Shloka 59

Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)

Devanagari script

अहं हि पुत्रशोकेन कृतपापा तवात्मजे | यथा त्वया प्रहर्तव्यं तथा तत्त्वं च मे शृणु

Transliteration

ahaṃ hi putraśokena kṛtapāpā tavātmaje | yathā tvayā prahartavyaṃ tathā tattvaṃ ca me śṛṇu ||

Translation

Brahmadatta dit : «Accablé par le chagrin de mon fils, j’ai commis une faute coupable envers ton enfant. Aussi, de même que tu peux à bon droit me frapper en retour, de même—écoute de ma bouche la vérité de ce qui s’est réellement passé.»

Word by Word

• {'ahaṃ': 'I', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'putra-śokena': 'by grief for (one’s) son', 'kṛta-pāpā': 'one who has done sin

• having committed a wrongful act', 'tava': 'your', 'ātmaje': 'to/against the son (lit. ‘born of oneself’)

• child', 'yathā': 'as, in the manner that', 'tvayā': 'by you', 'prahartavyam': 'to be struck

• to be punished/retaliated against (as deemed fit)', 'tathā': 'so, in that same way', 'tattvam': 'the truth

• the real state of affairs', 'ca': 'and', 'me': 'from me / my', 'śṛṇu': 'hear

Speaker

ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्रह्मदत्त (Brahmadatta)
• पुत्र (son)
• तव आत्मज (your son/child)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Grief can drive one into wrongdoing, but dharmic repair begins with owning the fault, accepting proportionate consequence, and then stating the truth without concealment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Brahmadatta admits that, due to sorrow over his own son, he acted sinfully toward the other person’s child; he acknowledges the other’s right to retaliate and asks them to hear the true account of the matter.