Shloka 3

Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya

Devanagari script

कम्मिंश्षात्मा निधातव्यस्त्रिवर्गविजयाय वै । संहृष्टा नै्ठिकं वाक्यं यथावद्‌ वक्तुमर्हथ

Transliteration

kasmiṁś cātmā nidhātavyas trivarga-vijayāya vai | saṁhṛṣṭā naiṣṭhikaṁ vākyaṁ yathāvad vaktum arhatha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Sur quoi, avant tout, l’esprit doit-il se fixer fermement afin de vaincre les trois buts de la vie ? Soyez joyeux et résolus, et répondez à cette question avec justesse : énoncez l’enseignement auquel vous adhérez d’une conviction entière et arrêtée.»

Word by Word

• कस्मिन्: in which (one)
• कस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• आत्मा: the mind/self
• आत्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• निधातव्यः: should be placed/fixed
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-धा
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, तव्यत् (gerundive/obligative)

• त्रिवर्गविजयाय: for the conquest of the three aims (dharma-artha-kama)
• त्रिवर्गविजयाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिवर्ग-विजय
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• वै: indeed/assuredly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• संहृष्टाः: delighted/cheerful
• संहृष्टाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सं-हृष्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past participle)

• नैष्ठिकम्: firm/steadfast (from conviction)
• नैष्ठिकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नैष्ठिक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वाक्यम्: statement/answer
• वाक्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाक्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यथावत्: properly/as it should be
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथावत्

• वक्तुम्: to speak
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive)

• अर्हथ: you are able/you ought
• Type: Verb
• Root: अर्ह्
• Form: Present, Second, Plural, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames an ethical inquiry: to master the three worldly aims (dharma, artha, kāma), one must fix the mind upon a chosen foundation, and the respondents are urged to speak a correct teaching grounded in firm personal conviction (naiṣṭhikī niṣṭhā).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana introduces a question being posed to a group of respondents: they are asked, with enthusiasm and seriousness, to declare what the mind should be anchored in to achieve mastery over the trivarga, and to answer in a properly reasoned and sincerely held way.