Shloka 29

Adhyaya 3 — The Dharmapakshis’ Past-Life Curse and Indra’s Test of Truthfulness

Sanskrit

यस्मिन्नराणां सर्वेषामशेषेच्छा निवर्तते ।

स कस्माद्वृद्धभावेऽपि सुनृशंसात्मको भवान् ॥

Transliteration

yasmin narāṇāṃ sarveṣām aśeṣecchā nivartate /

sa kasmād vṛddhabhāve 'pi sunṛśaṃsātmako bhavān

Translation

ໃນຜູ້ນັ້ນ ຄວາມປາຖະໜາທີ່ເຫຼືອຢູ່ຂອງມະນຸດທັງປວງ ດັບສິ້ນໂດຍສົມບູນ—ເປັນຫຍັງເຈົ້າ ແມ່ນແຕ່ໃນວັຍເຖົ້າ ຍັງມີນິສັຍໂຫດຮ້າຍຢ່າງເຕັມທີ່?

Word by Word

• यस्मिन्: in which (state/person)
• यस्मिन्: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), नपुंसकलिङ्गे (neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• नराणाम्: of men
• नराणाम्: सम्बन्ध (Ṣaṣṭhī/Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• सर्वेषाम्: of all
• सर्वेषाम्: सम्बन्ध (Genitive qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: विशेषण (adjective), पुंलिङ्गे (masculine) (नराणाम् इत्यस्य), षष्ठी-विभक्तिः (genitive/6th), बहुवचनम् (plural)

• अशेष-इच्छा: the complete desire (all desire)
• अशेष-इच्छा: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशेष (प्रातिपदिक) + इच्छा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः कर्मधारयः (descriptive), स्त्रीलिङ्गे (feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• निवर्तते: ceases/turns back
• निवर्तते: क्रिया (Kriyā/Verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि√वृत् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकारः (present), आत्मनेपदम् (ātmanepada), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), एकवचनम् (singular)

• सः: he
• सः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (pronoun), पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• कस्मात्: from what cause?/why?
• कस्मात्: हेतु/अपादान (Hetu/Apādāna: cause/source)
• Type: Noun
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम (interrogative pronoun), पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे (m/n), पञ्चमी-विभक्तिः (ablative/5th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• वृद्ध-भावे: in old age
• वृद्ध-भावे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृद्ध (प्रातिपदिक) + भाव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः तत्पुरुषः (determinative), पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्तिः (locative/7th), एकवचनम् (singular)

• अपि: even/also
• अपि: सम्बन्ध/वाक्यालङ्कार (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्ययम् (indeclinable), निपातः (particle), अर्थः—'even/also'

• सु-नृशंस-आत्मकः: of very cruel nature
• सु-नृशंस-आत्मकः: विशेषण (Predicate adjective of भवान्)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + नृशंस (प्रातिपदिक) + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समासः (तत्पुरुष-प्रायः; 'नृशंसः आत्मा यस्य/यः' इत्यर्थे), पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

• भवान्: you (sir)
• भवान्: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम-सदृश-शब्दः (honorific pronoun-like noun), पुंलिङ्गे (masculine), प्रथमा-विभक्तिः (nominative/1st), एकवचनम् (singular)

Speakers

• Unspecified in provided excerpt (verse is in interrogative address within the early dialogue context)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Ethics
• Desirelessness (vairāgya)
• Conduct in old age (vṛddhadharma)
• Critique of cruelty

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The verse juxtaposes an ideal of inner completion—where desires have fully ceased—with an observable moral failing: cruelty. Ethically, it implies that true maturity (especially old age) should manifest as softened conduct (dayā, kṣamā). Philosophically, it questions a contradiction: if one is genuinely desireless (a marker of wisdom), why would harshness persist, since cruelty typically arises from ego, fear, or attachment.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

This verse is not directly about sarga (creation), pratisarga, vaṃśa (genealogy), manvantara, or vaṃśānucarita. It aligns best with the Purāṇic didactic layer that accompanies vaṃśānucarita/manvantara narratives as ethical instruction (dharma-upadeśa) within the frame dialogue, rather than being a core pancalakṣaṇa datum itself.

What is the esoteric significance?

On an inner-reading, 'the place/person in whom all desires cease' can indicate the Self (ātman) or a realized state; the question then becomes a diagnostic: if realization is claimed, residual harshness reveals incomplete purification (śuddhi) and lingering saṃskāras. Esoterically, it warns against mistaking outward age or professed detachment for genuine inner transformation.