Shloka 20

Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)

Devanagari script

गतागते सुबहुशो ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्‌ लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलं ज्ञातार्थ सुखदु:खयो:

Transliteration

gatāgate subahuśo jñāna-vijñāna-pāragam loka-tattvārtha-kuśalaṃ jñātārthaṃ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ | prācīna-samaye kāśyapa-nāmakaḥ dharmajñaḥ tapasvī brāhmaṇaḥ kasyacid siddha-maharṣeḥ samīpaṃ jagāma; yaḥ dharma-viṣaye śāstra-sampūrṇa-rahasya-jñaḥ bhūta-bhaviṣya-jñāna-vijñāne pravīṇaḥ loka-tattva-jñāne kuśalaḥ sukha-duḥkha-rahasya-vedī janma-mṛtyu-tattva-jñaḥ pāpa-puṇya-jñaḥ ucca-nīca-prāṇināṃ karma-anusāra-prāptāyā gatyāḥ pratyakṣa-draṣṭā cāsīt ||

Translation

वह सिद्ध महर्षि भूत-भविष्य के ज्ञान-विज्ञान में पारंगत, लोक-तत्त्व के अर्थ में कुशल और सुख-दुःख के मर्म को जानने वाले थे। प्राचीन काल में धर्मज्ञ और तपस्वी ब्राह्मण काश्यप ऐसे ही महर्षि के पास गये—जो केवल श्रुति-ज्ञान तक सीमित न रहकर तत्त्वज्ञान में स्थित थे; जन्म-मृत्यु के सत्य को जानते थे; पाप-पुण्य का विवेक करते थे; और कर्मानुसार ऊँच-नीच देहधारियों की गति को प्रत्यक्ष देखते थे।

Word by Word

• गतागते: in going and coming; in repeated visits/approaches
• गतागते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गत-आगत (गम् धातु से क्त; उपसर्ग आ- सहित)
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• सुबहुशः: very many times; repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सु-बहुशस्

• ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्: one who has gone to the far shore of knowledge and realization
• ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञान-विज्ञान-पारग (पारग)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलम्: skilled in the meaning/principles of worldly reality
• लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक-तत्त्व-अर्थ-कुशल
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• ज्ञातार्थम्: one who knows the truth/meaning
• ज्ञातार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञात-अर्थ (ज्ञा धातु से क्त)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• सुखदुःखयोः: of pleasure and pain
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख-दुःख
• Form: neuter, genitive, dual

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• कश्यप (Kāśyapa)
• सिद्ध महर्षि (a Siddha Maharṣi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is best understood through a guide who unites śāstric mastery with direct insight into karma’s consequences—how actions shape pleasure and pain, birth and death, and the destinies of beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

An ascetic Brāhmaṇa named Kāśyapa approaches a spiritually perfected great sage renowned for comprehensive knowledge—scriptural, experiential, and ethical—setting up a consultation on dharma and the workings of karma.