Shloka 50

Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances

Devanagari script

सचिवेनापनीतं ते विदुषा प्राज्ञमानिना । तब मृगराजने सेवकोंको आज्ञा दी कि चोरका पता लगाओ। तब जिनकी यह करतूत थी

Transliteration

sacivenāpanītaṃ te viduṣā prājñamāninā | tataḥ mṛgarājena sevakān ājñā dī—coraṃ paryeṣata | tataḥ yeṣāṃ eṣā kartūt āsīt te eva janāḥ tasmin māṃse siṃhaṃ nyavedayan—“mahārāja! ātmānaṃ atyanta-buddhimantaṃ paṇḍitaṃ ca manyamānaḥ tava saciva eva etat māṃsam apāharat” || (49) kṛta-saroṣas tv atha śārṭūlaḥ śrutvā gomāyu-cāpalam ||

Translation

Daging itu telah dibawa pergi oleh menterimu—seorang terpelajar, namun membanggakan diri sebagai yang paling bijak. Maka raja singa memerintahkan para pengawal, “Cari pencurinya!” Tetapi para pelaku sendiri datang melapor, “Wahai Baginda! Menteri Paduka—yang menganggap dirinya amat cerdas dan pandai—dialah yang mencuri daging ini.” Mendengar kelancangan bak serigala itu, sang raja pun murka.

Word by Word

• {'sacivena': 'by the minister/counsellor (instrumental singular of saciva)', 'apanitam': 'carried away, removed, stolen (past passive participle of apa-nī)', 'viduṣā': 'by a learned man (instrumental singular of vidvas)', 'prājñamāninā': 'by one who thinks himself wise

• self-conceited about wisdom (instrumental singular)', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'mṛgarājena': 'by the king of beasts (lion) (instrumental singular)', 'sevakān': 'servants, attendants (accusative plural)', 'ājñā dī': 'gave an order, commanded', 'cora': 'thief', 'paryeṣata': 'seek, search for (imperative/command sense)', 'kartūt': 'deed, misdeed, act (here: wrongdoing)', 'māṃsa': 'meat', 'siṃha': 'lion', 'mahārāja': 'O great king', 'apāharat': 'stole, carried off (imperfect/aorist sense of apa-hṛ)', 'sarōṣa': 'angry, enraged', 'śārṭūla': 'tiger

• in fable-style usage, a fierce beast/kingly predator', 'gomāyu': 'jackal', 'cāpalam': 'impudence, fickle insolence'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• saciva (minister/counsellor)
• mṛgarāja (lion-king)
• sevaka (attendants/servants)
• cora (thief)
• siṃha (lion)
• śārṭūla (tiger/fierce beast)
• gomāyu (jackal)
• māṃsa (meat)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage warns that wrongdoing is often hidden through scapegoating—especially by blaming respected officials—and that self-conceit (prājñamāna) combined with deceit undermines righteous governance. A king must investigate carefully rather than accept convenient accusations.

What is happening in the narrative?

A piece of meat is stolen. The lion-king orders his servants to find the thief. The actual culprits try to divert blame by accusing the minister, portraying him as a proud ‘wise man.’ Hearing this jackal-like impudence, the fierce beast becomes angry.