Shloka 44

Devanagari script

मातापितृभ्यां शुश्रूषु: सत्यवादी जितेन्द्रिय:,मिथिलामें एक व्याध रहता है, जो माता-पिताका सेवक, सत्यवादी और जितेन्द्रिय है, वह तुम्हें धर्मका उपदेश करेगा। द्विजश्रेष्ठ! तुम अपनी रुचिके अनुसार वहीं जाओ, तुम्हारा मंगल हो

Transliteration

mātāpitṛbhyāṃ śuśrūṣuḥ satyavādī jitendriyaḥ | mithilāyāṃ ekaḥ vyādhaḥ vasati, yaḥ mātā-pitṛ-sevakaḥ satyavādī ca jitendriyaś ca | sa te dharmam upadekṣyati | dvijaśreṣṭha! tvaṃ yathāruci tatraiva gaccha; te maṅgalaṃ bhavatu ||

Translation

Sang brāhmana berkata: “Di Mithilā tinggal seorang pemburu; ia berbakti melayani ayah-ibunya, berkata benar, dan menaklukkan indria. Dialah yang akan mengajarkan dharma kepadamu. Wahai yang terbaik di antara kaum dwija, pergilah ke sana sebagaimana kehendakmu—semoga baik adanya bagimu.”

Word by Word

माताmother

पितृभ्याम्by/with the two fathers (i.e., parents)

शुश्रूषुःone who is devoted to service (attentive)

सत्यवादीtruth-speaking

जितेन्द्रियःone who has conquered the senses

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (speaker)

व

व्याध (hunter)

म

माता

प

पिता

म

मिथिला

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is grounded in truthfulness, self-mastery, and devoted service to one’s parents; genuine ethical authority can reside even in someone of a socially humble occupation, such as a hunter.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin directs the inquirer to travel to Mithilā to meet a hunter renowned for serving his parents and living truthfully with controlled senses, assuring that this hunter will provide instruction on dharma.