Shloka 4

Jarā’s Account and the Enthronement of Jarāsandha (जरासंधोत्पत्तिः अभिषेकश्च)

Devanagari script

सुनयस्यानपायस्य संयोगे परम: क्रम: । संगत्या जायतेड5साम्यं साम्यं च न भवेद्‌ द्वायो:,दैव आदिकी प्रतिकूलतासे रहित अच्छी नीति एवं सलाह प्राप्त होनेपर आरम्भ किया हुआ कार्य पूर्णरूपसे सफल होता है। शत्रुके साथ भिड़नेपर ही दोनों पक्षोंका अन्तर ज्ञात होता है। दोनों दल सभी बातोंमें समान ही हों, ऐसा सम्भव नहीं

Transliteration

sunayasya anapāyasya saṃyoge paramaḥ kramaḥ | saṅgatyā jāyate ’sāmyaṃ sāmyaṃ ca na bhaved dvayoḥ ||

Translation

Bila nasihat bijak yang bebas dari bahaya dipadukan dengan suatu usaha, tercapailah jalan tindakan yang tertinggi. Dari pertemuan dan benturan yang dekat tampaklah ketidaksetaraan; dan kesetaraan sempurna antara dua pihak tidak pernah terjadi.

Word by Word

• {'su-naya': 'good policy

• prudent counsel', 'anapāya': 'free from harm or risk

• not leading to downfall', 'saṃyoga': 'joining

• association', 'paramaḥ kramaḥ': 'the highest procedure/step

• best course of action', 'saṅgati': 'close contact

• coming together (also: engagement/encounter)', 'jāyate': 'arises

• comes to be known', 'asāmya': 'inequality

• non-equivalence', 'sāmya': 'equality

• parity', 'na bhavet': 'does not occur

• is not possible', 'dvayoḥ': 'of the two (sides/parties)'}

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Undertakings succeed when guided by prudent, non-harmful counsel; and real comparative strength is revealed only through direct engagement—perfect parity between opposing sides is rarely, if ever, found.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva offers a maxim of practical ethics and policy: good advice ensures successful action, and confrontation/close contact exposes the true disparity between two parties.