Shloka 35

Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)

Devanagari script

शृण्वन्तु सर्वभूतानि स्थावराणि चराणि च । त्वं च मातर्यथा सत्यं ब्रवीमि भुजगोत्तमे,'संसारके समस्त चराचर प्राणियो! आप मेरी बात सुनें। नागराजकुमारी माता उलूपी! तुम भी सुन लो। मैं सच्ची बात बता रहा हूँ

Transliteration

śṛṇvantu sarvabhūtāni sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca | tvaṃ ca mātaryathā satyaṃ bravīmi bhujagottame ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Let all beings—both the immobile and the moving—listen. And you too, O Mother, foremost among serpents: I speak to you the truth, exactly as it is.”

Word by Word

• {'śṛṇvantu': 'let (them) hear

• imperative, 3rd person plural', 'sarva-bhūtāni': 'all beings

• all living entities', 'sthāvarāṇi': 'immobile beings (plants, fixed life-forms)', 'carāṇi': 'moving beings (animals, humans, mobile life-forms)', 'ca': 'and', 'tvaṃ': 'you', 'mātari': 'O mother (vocative sense

• respectful address)', 'yathā': 'as

• in the manner that', 'satyam': 'truth

• what is real and correct', 'bravīmi': 'I speak

• I declare', 'bhujagottame': 'O best/foremost among serpents (address to a nāga personage, here Ulūpī)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Ulūpī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthfulness) as a dharmic foundation: the speaker calls all beings as witnesses and explicitly commits to speaking the truth, emphasizing ethical speech and accountability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana formally addresses all creatures and then directly addresses Ulūpī, the foremost among nāgas, announcing that he is about to state a truthful account—an elevated, witness-invoking preface to an important declaration.