Shloka 17

Devanagari script

मार्कण्डेय उवाच बाढमित्येव तौ विप्र: प्रत्युवाच मुदान्वित: । धर्मव्याधो निरीक्ष्याथ ततस्तं वाक्यमब्रवीत्‌,मार्कण्डेयजी कहते हैं--राजन्‌! तब कौशिक ब्राह्मणने उन्हें प्रसन्नतापूर्वक उत्तर दिया--'हाँ, मुझे कोई कष्ट नहीं हुआ।' तदनन्तर धर्मव्याधने अपने पिता-माताकी ओर देखते हुए कौशिक ब्राह्मणसे कहा

Transliteration

mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | bāḍham ity eva tau vipraḥ pratyuvāca mudānvitaḥ | dharmavyādho nirīkṣyātha tatas taṃ vākyam abravīt |

Translation

Markandeya berkata: Sang brahmana menjawab dengan gembira, “Sungguh, ya,” menegaskan bahwa ia tidak mengalami bahaya. Lalu si pemburu yang saleh, setelah memandang ayah dan ibunya, berbicara kepada brahmana itu.

Word by Word

• {'mārkaṇḍeya uvāca': 'Markandeya said', 'bāḍham': 'certainly

• assuredly', 'iti eva': 'thus indeed

• just so', 'tau': 'to those two / to them (dual)', 'vipraḥ': 'a brahmin

• learned priest', 'pratyuvāca': 'replied

• answered in return', 'mudānvitaḥ': 'filled with joy

• gladly', 'dharmavyādhaḥ': 'the hunter devoted to dharma

• ‘Dharma-vyadha’', 'nirīkṣya': 'having looked at

• observing', 'atha': 'then

• thereafter', 'tataḥ': 'then

• from that point', 'taṃ vākyam': 'that statement/utterance

• those words', 'abravīt': 'said

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya
• Kauśika (the brahmin)
• Dharmavyādha (the righteous hunter)
• father
• mother

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds dharma as lived responsibility: the Dharmavyadha’s glance toward his parents signals that ethical speech and action are grounded in service and duty to those one must care for, not merely in status or learning.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kauśika, the brahmin, responds cheerfully that he has not been harmed. Immediately after, the Dharmavyadha—mindful of his parents—turns to speak to Kauśika, setting up further instruction on right conduct.