Shanti Parva Adhyaya 234 Shloka 14 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 14

Āśrama-dharma and Brahmacarya: Śuka’s Inquiry on Karma and Tyāga (शुक-प्रश्नः कर्मत्यागविवेकश्च)

Devanagari script

अन्तर्हिताधितप्तानां यथाशक्ति बुभूषताम्‌ । देवानामतिशक्त्यापि देयमेषां कृतादपि

Transliteration

antarhitādhitaptānāṁ yathāśakti bubhūṣatām | devānām atiśaktyāpi deyam eṣāṁ kṛtād api ||

Translation

ວະຍາສະກ່າວວ່າ: «ຕໍ່ພຣາຫມະນ໌ທີ່ຖືກຄວາມທຸກຍາກບີບຄັ້ນ ຈົນຕ້ອງເດີນໄປມາດ້ວຍຄວາມອາຍ ແລະຫຼົບຊ່ອນ ພ້ອມທັງຖືກເຜົາໃນໃຈ; ແລະຕໍ່ຜູ້ທີ່ພະຍາຍາມຕາມກໍາລັງເພື່ອຄວາມເຈີຣິນທາງຈິດວິນຍານ—ຄວນໃຫ້ຈາກຊັບທີ່ຫາໄດ້ດ້ວຍຄວາມສຸຈຣິດ ຕາມທີ່ຈະໃຫ້ໄດ້. ສໍາລັບພຣາຫມະນ໌ຜູ້ຄວນແກ່ການນັບຖື ບໍ່ມີສິ່ງໃດທີ່ຄວນຖືວ່າ ‘ໃຫ້ບໍ່ໄດ້’; ແມ່ນແຕ່ຂອງລໍ້າຄ່າຢ່າງຍິ່ງ ກໍອາດຖວາຍໃຫ້ແກ່ຜູ້ສົມຄວນແທ້—ນີ້ແມ່ນຄໍາຕັດສິນຂອງຜູ້ສູງສົງ».

Word by Word

अन्तर्हितhidden, concealed

अधितप्तानाम्greatly afflicted, intensely distressed

यथाas, according to

शक्तिability, capacity

बुभूषताम्of those wishing to be / to live / to prosper

देवानाम्of the gods / of the divine ones

अतिशक्त्याwith extraordinary power / even by great power

अपिeven, also

देयम्to be given, should be given

एषाम्to/for these (persons)

कृतात्from what is earned/done; from one’s acquisitions

अपिeven

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Devas (honorific sense)

Brahmins (bhūdevas, implied by context)

earned wealth (kṛta/ārjita dhana, implied)

a supremely precious gift (implied by context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Give charity from one’s rightly earned wealth according to one’s capacity, especially to worthy and distressed Brahmins and to sincere seekers of spiritual uplift; for a truly deserving recipient, no gift is considered inherently ‘forbidden’ or ‘too great.’

What is happening in the narrative?

In the didactic setting of the Śānti Parva, Vyāsa instructs on dāna-dharma: identifying recipients who suffer silently from poverty or who strive for higher good, and emphasizing that generosity should be proportionate to one’s means yet unrestricted in principle when the recipient is genuinely worthy.