Shloka 4
कौशिकस्य क्रोधविनिवृत्तिः — Kauśika’s Anger Checked by Householder Dharma
अथ त॑ सेदिकं ब्राह्मण: कश्निद् वेदाध्ययनसम्पन्न आशिषं दत्त्वा गुर्वर्थी भिक्षितवान्,“एक दिन कोई वेदाध्ययनसम्पन्न ब्राह्मण राजा सेदुकके पास आया और उन्हें आशीर्वाद देकर गुरु-दक्षिणाके लिये भिक्षा माँगता हुआ बोला--'राजन्! आप मुझे एक हजार घोड़े दीजिये।” तब सेदुकने उस ब्राह्मण-से कहा--'ब्रह्मनम! आपकी अभीष्ट गुरु- दक्षिणा देना मेरे लिये सम्भव नहीं है
atha taṁ sedukaṁ brāhmaṇaḥ kaścid vedādhyayanasampanna āśiṣaṁ dattvā gurvarthī bhikṣitavān— “rājan! tvaṁ me sahasraṁ aśvān dehi” iti. tataḥ sedukena sa brāhmaṇaḥ pratyuktaḥ— “brahman! tava iṣṭāṁ guru-dakṣiṇāṁ dātuṁ mama na śakyam” iti.
Vaiśampāyana said: Then a certain Brahmin, accomplished in Vedic study, came to King Seduka. After offering him a blessing, he begged for alms as a teacher’s fee, saying, “O King, grant me a thousand horses.” Seduka replied to the Brahmin, “Revered sir, it is not possible for me to give the teacher’s fee you desire.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The episode highlights ethical giving: requests for charity or guru-dakṣiṇā should be weighed against one’s actual capacity, and a ruler should respond truthfully rather than promise what cannot be fulfilled.
A Veda-trained Brahmin approaches King Seduka, blesses him, and asks for a thousand horses as guru-dakṣiṇā; the king replies that he is unable to provide such a large gift.