Shloka 87

Devanagari script

पुरा मामूचतुश्चैव रात्रावश्रायमाणकौ । भृशं सुदुःखितौ वृद्धौ बहुश: प्रीतिसंयुती,पहलेकी बात है, मेरे वृद्ध माता-पिताने अत्यन्त दुःखी हो रातमें आँसू बहाते हुए मुझसे बारंबार प्रेमपूर्वक कहा था--

Transliteration

purā mām ūcatuś caiva rātrāv aśrāyamāṇakau | bhṛśaṃ suduḥkhitau vṛddhau bahuśaḥ prītisaṃyutī ||

Translation

ヤマは言った。「昔、我が老いた父母は、激しい悲しみに沈み、夜に涙を流しながら我がもとへ来た。深い慈愛をもって、幾度となく私にこう語った……」

Word by Word

पुराformerly, once

माम्me

ऊचतुःsaid (they two)

चand

एवindeed, just

रात्रौat night

अश्रायमाणकौshedding tears, weeping

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

सु-दुःखितौvery sorrowful

वृद्धौaged (the two elders)

बहुशःmany times, repeatedly

प्रीति-संयुतीendowed with affection

Speaker

यम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yama

Yama's parents (aged mother and father)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse sets an ethical frame: the words of one’s parents, especially when spoken in distress and with affection, carry moral weight and call for a dharmic response grounded in compassion and duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yama begins a recollection. He describes a past moment when his elderly parents, grieving and in tears at night, repeatedly addressed him lovingly—introducing the request or instruction that follows in the next verses.