Shloka 2

अग्निनाम-प्रादुर्भावः प्रायश्चित्त-विधानं च

Agni’s Epithets, Manifestations, and Expiation Procedures

Devanagari script

व्याध उवाच विज्ञानार्थ मनुष्याणां मन: पूर्व प्रवर्तते । तत्‌ प्राप्य काम॑ भजते क्रोधं च द्विजसत्तम,धर्मव्याधने कहा--द्विजश्रेष्ठ! इन्द्रियोंद्रारा किसी विषयका ज्ञान प्राप्त करनेके लिये सबसे पहले मनुष्योंका मन प्रवृत्त होता है। उस विषयको प्राप्त कर लेनेपर मनका उसके प्रति राग या द्वेष हो जाता है

Transliteration

vyādha uvāca vijñānārthaṁ manuṣyāṇāṁ manaḥ pūrvaṁ pravartate | tat prāpya kāmaṁ bhajate krodhaṁ ca dvijasattama ||

Translation

The hunter said: “O best of the twice-born, when people seek to know an object through the senses, the mind is the first to move toward it. Having obtained that object, the mind then takes on desire for it—or anger as well.”

Word by Word

• {'vyādhaḥ': 'hunter (here, the Dharma-vyādha, a moral instructor)', 'uvāca': 'said', 'vijñāna-artham': 'for the sake of cognition/knowledge

• in order to know', 'manuṣyāṇām': 'of human beings', 'manaḥ': 'mind', 'pūrvam': 'first

• beforehand', 'pravartate': 'sets in motion

• turns toward', 'tat': 'that (object/thing)', 'prāpya': 'having obtained

• having reached', 'kāmam': 'desire

• attachment', 'bhajate': 'partakes of

• resorts to', 'krodham': 'anger

• wrath', 'ca': 'and', 'dvija-sattama': 'best of the twice-born (honorific for a brahmin)'}

Speaker

व्याध उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyādha (Dharma-vyādha)
• Dvijasattama (addressed brahmin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cognition begins with the mind turning toward sense-objects; once an object is obtained, the mind tends to generate strong reactions—desire/attachment or anger—so ethical life requires vigilance at the level of mental engagement.

What is happening in the narrative?

The Dharma-vyādha instructs a brahmin, explaining the psychological sequence by which sense-contact leads the mind to pursue objects and then to emotional disturbances like desire and anger.