Shloka 20
ययाति–शक्रसंवादः
Speech-Ethics and Forbearance in the Celestial Court
(सह दत्तास्मि काव्येन देवयान्या महर्षिणा । पूज्या पोषयितव्येति न मृषा कर्तुमहसि ।। सुवर्णमणिरत्नानि वस्त्राण्याभरणानि च । याचितृणां ददासि त्वं गोभूम्यादीनि यानि च ।। वाहिकं दानमित्युक्त न शरीराश्रितं नृप । दुष्करं पुत्रदानं च आत्मदानं च दुष्करम् ।। शरीरदानातू तत् सर्व दत्त भवति नाहुष । यस्य यस्य यथा कामस्तस्य तस्य ददाम्यहम् ।। इत्युक्त्वा नगरे राजंस्त्रिकालं घोषितं त्वया ।। अनुृतं तत्तु राजेन्द्र वृथा घोषितमेव च । तत् सत्यं कुरु राजेन्द्र यथा वैश्रवणस्तथा ।।) राजन! महर्षि शुक्राचार्यने देवयानीके साथ मुझे भी यह कहकर आपको समर्पित किया है कि तुम इसका भी पालन-पोषण और आदर करना। आप उनके वचनको मिथ्या न करें। महाराज! आप प्रतिदिन याचकोंको जो सुवर्ण, मणि, रत्न, वस्त्र, आभूषण, गौ और भूमि आदि दान करते हैं, वह बाह्य दान कहा गया है। वह शरीरके आश्रित नहीं है। पुत्रदान और शरीरदान अत्यन्त कठिन है। नहुषनन्दन! शरीरदानसे उपर्युक्त सब दान सम्पन्न हो जाता है। राजन्! “जिसकी जैसी इच्छा होगी उस-उस मनुष्यको मैं मुँहमाँगी वस्तु दूँगा” ऐसा कहकर आपने नगरमें जो तीनों समय दानकी घोषणा करायी है, वह मेरी प्रार्थना ठुकरा देनेपर झूठी सिद्ध होगी। वह सारी घोषणा ही व्यर्थ समझी जायगी। राजेन्द्र! आप कुबेरकी भाँति अपनी उस घोषणाको सत्य कीजिये। ययातिरुवाच दातव्यं याचमाने भ्य इति मे व्रतमाहितम् । त्वं च याचसि मां काम॑ ब्रूहि कि करवाणि ते,ययाति बोले--याचकोंको उनकी अभीष्ट वस्तुएँ दी जाय, ऐसा मेरा व्रत है। तुम भी मुझसे अपने मनोरथकी याचना करती हो; अतः बताओ मैं तुम्हारा कौन-सा प्रिय कार्य करूँ?
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
sa ha dattāsmi kāvyena devayānyā maharṣiṇā |
pūjyā poṣayitavyeti na mṛṣā kartum arhasi ||
suvarṇamaṇiratnāni vastrāṇy ābharaṇāni ca |
yācitṝṇāṁ dadāsi tvaṁ gobhūmyādīni yāni ca ||
vāhikaṁ dānam ity uktaṁ na śarīrāśritaṁ nṛpa |
duṣkaraṁ putradānaṁ ca ātmadānaṁ ca duṣkaram ||
śarīradānāt tu tat sarvaṁ dattaṁ bhavati nāhuṣa |
yasya yasya yathā kāmas tasya tasya dadāmy aham ||
ity uktvā nagare rājan trikālaṁ ghoṣitaṁ tvayā |
anṛtaṁ tat tu rājendra vṛthā ghoṣitam eva ca |
tat satyaṁ kuru rājendra yathā vaiśravaṇas tathā ||
yayātir uvāca |
dātavyaṁ yācamānebhya iti me vratam āhitam |
tvaṁ ca yācasi māṁ kāmaṁ brūhi kiṁ karavāṇi te ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O King, the great seer Kāvya (Śukrācārya) has handed me over to you along with Devayānī, saying, ‘He too is to be honored and maintained.’ You must not make his word false. The gold, gems, jewels, garments, ornaments, cows, lands, and the like that you give daily to supplicants are called external gifts; they are not gifts that rest upon one’s own body. But the gift of a son—and the gift of oneself—are exceedingly hard. O descendant of Nahusha, by giving one’s own body, all those other gifts are, as it were, fulfilled at once. You proclaimed in the city, three times a day, ‘Whatever desire anyone has, I shall grant it.’ If you reject my request, that proclamation becomes untrue and your public announcement is rendered pointless. Therefore, O lord of kings, make your proclamation true, like Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera) himself.” Yayāti said: “My vow is fixed: to give to those who ask. You too are asking me for a desire—tell me what I should do for you.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts ordinary material charity with the far more demanding ethics of personal sacrifice (giving oneself or one’s son) and insists that a king’s public vow must be upheld in truth. Royal generosity is not merely about wealth; it is bound to satya (truthfulness) and accountability—once proclaimed, a promise becomes a moral obligation.
Vaiśampāyana reports how the speaker reminds King Yayāti that Śukrācārya entrusted the speaker to him along with Devayānī, requiring honor and maintenance. The king is challenged: his public proclamation to grant any request will become false if he refuses this petition. Yayāti responds that giving to those who ask is his vow and invites the petitioner to state what is desired.