Shloka 104

Devanagari script

तमुवाच गुर्वर्थ कुण्डलयोरथ्थेनाभ्यागतोडस्मीति । ये वै ते क्षत्रियया पिनद्धे कुण्डले ते भवान्‌ दातुमर्हतीति,उत्तंकने पौष्यसे कहा--'राजन! मैं गुरुदक्षिणाके निमित्त दो कुण्डलोंके लिये आपके यहाँ आया हूँ। आपकी क्षत्राणीने जिन्हें पहन रखा है, उन्हीं दोनों कुण्डलोंको आप मुझे दे दें। यह आपके योग्य कार्य है”

Transliteration

tam uvāca gurvarthaṁ kuṇḍalayor arthe nābhyāgato ’smi iti | ye vai te kṣatriyayā pinaddhe kuṇḍale te bhavān dātum arhati iti |

Translation

Rāma said: “I have come to you seeking, for my teacher’s fee, a pair of earrings. The very earrings that your kṣatriya queen is wearing—those two you ought to give me. This is a deed worthy of you.” The request frames the guru’s due (gurudakṣiṇā) as a binding ethical obligation, testing royal generosity and adherence to dharma even when it demands personal sacrifice.

Word by Word

[{'term''tam', 'definition': 'to him

that person (accusative singular masculine)'}, {'term''uvāca', 'definition': 'said

spoke (perfect of √vac)'}, {'term''gurvartham (guru-artham)', 'definition': 'for the sake of the teacher

as a teacher’s due'}, {'term''kuṇḍalayor arthe', 'definition': 'for the purpose of (obtaining) two earrings (dual genitive/locative sense)'}, {'term': 'abhyāgataḥ asmi', 'definition': 'I have come

I have arrived'}, {'term''kṣatriyayā', 'definition': 'by the kṣatriya woman/queen (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'pinaddhe', 'definition': 'fastened, worn, put on (past participle of √nah)'}, {'term': 'kuṇḍale', 'definition': 'earrings (dual)'}, {'term': 'bhavān', 'definition': 'you (honorific pronoun)'}, {'term': 'dātum arhati', 'definition': 'ought to give

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Rāma

King Pauṣya

Pauṣya’s kṣatriya queen (kṣatriyā)

kuṇḍala (earrings)

guru (teacher)

gurudakṣiṇā (teacher’s fee)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights dharma as fulfilled through rightful obligation: a disciple must secure the guru’s due (gurudakṣiṇā), and a king is expected to uphold generosity and righteousness even when the request touches what is personally valued.

What is happening in the narrative?

Rāma states that he has come to King Pauṣya to obtain two earrings as a teacher’s fee, specifically demanding the pair worn by the king’s queen, thereby setting up a moral test of the king’s commitment to dharma and dāna.