Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 21

Chatra–Upānah Dāna: Origin Narrative

Jamadagni–Reṇukā–Sūrya Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

धुन्धुमार उवाच अकृतज्ञस्तु मित्राणां शूद्रायां च प्रजायतु । एक: सम्पन्नमश्चातु यस्ते हरति पुष्करम्‌

Transliteration

dhundhumāra uvāca | akṛtajñas tu mitrāṇāṁ śūdrāyāṁ ca prajāyatu | ekaḥ sampannam aśnātu yaḥ te harati puṣkaram ||

Translation

धुन्धुमार ने कहा—जिसने तुम्हारा कमल चुराया है, वह मित्रों के उपकार को न माने; शूद्र जाति की स्त्री से संतान उत्पन्न करे; और सम्पन्न होकर भी अकेला ही स्वादिष्ट अन्न खाए।

Word by Word

• {'dhundhumāra uvāca': 'Dhundhumāra said', 'akṛtajñaḥ': 'ungrateful

• one who does not acknowledge benefits received', 'tu': 'but/indeed (emphatic particle)', 'mitrāṇām': 'of friends', 'śūdrāyām': 'in/through a Śūdra woman (locative

• indicating the mother)', 'ca': 'and', 'prajāyatu': 'let him beget offspring

• may he produce children', 'ekaḥ': 'alone

• solitary', 'sampannaḥ': 'prosperous

• well-provided', 'aśnātu': 'let him eat

• may he consume', 'yaḥ': 'who

• the one who', 'te': 'your (genitive/dative sense in context)', 'harati': 'steals

• takes away', 'puṣkaram': 'lotus (also ‘Puṣkara’ can mean a lotus/lotus-pond

Speaker

धुन्धुमार उवाच

Characters & Entities

• धुन्धुमार (Dhundhumāra)
• मित्र (friends)
• पुष्कर (lotus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames theft and betrayal as moral failures that lead to painful consequences: ingratitude toward benefactors, socially censured conduct, and lonely self-indulgence even amid prosperity—suggesting that adharma isolates and degrades a person.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhundhumāra pronounces a curse upon the person who stole “your lotus,” specifying misfortunes and moral degradations as the thief’s karmic recompense.