Shloka 20

धर्मव्याधोपदेशः

Dharma-vyādha’s Instruction on Śiṣṭācāra and Dharma

Devanagari script

श्येन उवाच उरोर्दक्षिणादुत्कृत्य स्वपिशितं तावद्‌ राजन्‌ यावन्मांसं कपोतेन समम्‌ | तथा तस्मात्‌ साधु त्रात: कपोतः प्रशंसेयुश्न शिबय: कृतं च प्रियं स्थान्ममेति,बाज बोला--राजन्‌! अपनी दायीं जाँघसे उतना ही मांस काटकर दो, जितना इस कबूतरके बराबर हो सके। ऐसा करनेसे कबूतरकी भलीभाँति रक्षा हो सकती है। इसीसे शिबिदेशकी प्रजा आपकी भूरि-भूरि प्रशंसा करेगी और मेरा भी प्रिय कार्य सम्पन्न हो जायगा

Transliteration

śyena uvāca: uror dakṣiṇād utkṛtya sva-piśitaṃ tāvad, rājan, yāvan māṃsaṃ kapotena samam | tathā tasmāt sādhu trātaḥ kapotaḥ praśaṃseyuś ca śibayaḥ; kṛtaṃ ca priyaṃ sthān mama iti ||

Translation

Elang itu berkata, “Wahai Raja, potonglah dari paha kananmu sepotong dagingmu sendiri—hanya sebanyak yang setara dengan berat daging merpati ini. Dengan demikian merpati itu akan terlindungi dengan semestinya. Maka rakyat negeri Śibi akan memujimu setinggi-tingginya, dan maksud yang kuinginkan pun akan terpenuhi.”

Word by Word

श्येनःthe hawk

उवाचsaid

ऊरोःfrom the thigh

दक्षिणात्from the right (one)

उत्कृत्यhaving cut out

स्वपिशितम्one's own flesh

तावत्so much; to that extent

राजन्O king

यावत्as much as; until

मांसम्flesh

कपोतेनwith the pigeon; by the pigeon (as standard of comparison)

समम्equal

तथाthus; in that way

तस्मात्from that; therefore

साधुwell; properly

त्रातःprotected; saved

कपोतःthe pigeon

प्रशंसेयुःwould praise; should praise

शिबयःthe Śibis (people of Śibi)

कृतम्done; accomplished

चand

प्रियम्dear; pleasing

स्यात्would be; may be

ममof me; my

इतिthus (quotative)

Speaker

श्येन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śyena (hawk)

Rājan (the king—Śibi in context)

Kapota (pigeon/dove)

Śibayaḥ (people of Śibi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma as a lived ethical commitment: a ruler’s duty to protect the vulnerable may demand personal cost. The hawk’s demand forces the king to balance compassion (saving the pigeon) with fairness (not denying the hawk its due), culminating in the ideal of self-sacrifice to uphold righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

A pigeon seeks refuge with the king while a hawk claims it as prey. The hawk proposes a condition: the king may save the pigeon only by giving an equal weight of his own flesh from his right thigh. The hawk predicts that such an act will earn the king praise from the people of Śibi and fulfill the hawk’s purpose.