Shloka 12

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: On the Superiority of Giving

Maitreya–Vyāsa Exemplum

Devanagari script

वहतां सुमहाभारं संनिकर्षे स्वनं प्रभो । नृणां च संवाहयतां श्रूयते विविध: स्वन:

Transliteration

vahatāṃ sumahābhāraṃ saṃnikarṣe svanaṃ prabho | nṛṇāṃ ca saṃvāhayatāṃ śrūyate vividhaḥ svanaḥ ||

Translation

「主よ、途方もなく重い荷を載せた車の轟きが、すぐ近くに聞こえます。さらに、それを駆り立てる人々のさまざまな叫び声も聞こえます。そのような音が耳に入ると、車が来て私を踏み潰すのではないかという恐れに襲われるのです。だから私は慌ててここから逃げます。ご覧ください――鞭が牛に打ち鳴らされ、牛どもは大荷の下で息を荒くしながら、こちらへ迫って来ます。」

Word by Word

• वहताम्: of (those) carrying
• वहताम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• सुमहाभारम्: a very great load/burden
• सुमहाभारम्: कर्म
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुमहाभार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• संनिकर्षे: in proximity/at close range
• संनिकर्षे: अधिकरण
• Type: Noun
• Root: संनिकर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• स्वनम्: sound, noise
• स्वनम्: कर्म
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• प्रभो: O lord!
• प्रभो: सम्बोधन
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• नृणाम्: of men
• नृणाम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• संवाहयताम्: of (those) driving/transporting (carrying along)
• संवाहयताम्: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + वह् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्यय (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• श्रूयते: is heard
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, एकवचन, कर्मणि (passive sense)

• विविधः: various, manifold
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• स्वनः: sound/noise
• स्वनः: कर्ता
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

कीट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• kīṭa (the insect/small creature, speaker)
• prabhu (addressed lord/master)
• cart/vehicle (gāḍī implied by context)
• oxen/bulls (draft animals, implied by context)
• whip (implied by context)
• men/drivers (nṛṇām)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the smallest beings experience fear and seek safety; dharma therefore includes attentiveness and compassion so that human activity does not harm the vulnerable—whether by negligence (a cart crushing a creature) or by cruelty (whipping overburdened oxen).

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker, a small creature (kīṭa), tells a lord/master that it hears the nearby rumble of a heavily loaded cart and the varied shouts of the men driving it; fearing it may be crushed, it runs away, while also noting the whip striking the oxen and their labored breathing under the load.