Shloka 20

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

विविधानां च भूतानां जड़मा: परमा नृप । जड़मानामपि तथा द्विपदा: परमा मता:

Transliteration

vividhānāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ jaṅgamāḥ paramā nṛpa | jaṅgamānām api tathā dvipadāḥ paramā matāḥ ||

Translation

Ô grand roi, parmi les nombreuses espèces d’êtres vivants, ceux qui se meuvent sont tenus pour supérieurs. Et même parmi les êtres mobiles, les bipèdes—les hommes—sont réputés les plus élevés.

Word by Word

• विविधानाम्: of various
• विविधानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भूतानाम्: of beings/creatures
• भूतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• जङ्गमाः: moving (creatures)
• जङ्गमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जङ्गम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमाः: supreme/best
• परमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• जङ्गमानाम्: of the moving ones
• जङ्गमानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जङ्गम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• तथा: likewise/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• द्विपदाः: two-footed (beings, i.e., humans)
• द्विपदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विपद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमाः: supreme/best
• परमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मताः: are considered/thought
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Passive (past participle sense)

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• nṛpa (king)
• bhūtāni (living beings)
• jaṅgamāḥ (moving creatures)
• dvipadāḥ (humans)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a graded view of life: mobile beings are superior to immobile ones, and among mobile beings humans are highest—implying greater capacity and responsibility for ethical choice (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara addresses a king and frames an ethical-anthropological point about the status of beings, preparing the listener to understand human life as uniquely suited for dharma, restraint, and right conduct.