Shloka 13

अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः

Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code

Devanagari script

अवृत्त्या क्लिश्यमानो<पि वृत्त्युपायान्‌ विगर्हयन्‌ | माहात्म्याद्‌ व्यथसे नूनं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:,जीवन-निर्वाहका कोई उपाय न होनेसे तुम क्लेश उठाते होगे, किंतु अपने गौरवके कारण जीविकाके प्रतिग्रह आदि उपायोंकी निन्दा करते हुए उन्हें स्वीकार नहीं करते होगे। यही तुम्हारी उदासी और दुर्बलताका कारण है

Transliteration

avṛttyā kliśyamāno ’pi vṛttyupāyān vigarhayan | māhātmyād vyathase nūnaṃ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

Translation

ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ജീവിക്കാനുള്ള മാർഗം ഒന്നുമില്ലാതെ നീ ക്ലേശിക്കുന്നു; എങ്കിലും ഉപജീവനത്തിനുള്ള ലഭ്യമായ വഴികളെ നീ നിന്ദിക്കുന്നു. സ്വന്തം മഹത്വബോധവും ആത്മഗൗരവവും കൊണ്ട് നീ ആ സഹായങ്ങൾ സ്വീകരിക്കാതെ ഇരിക്കുന്നു; അതിനാൽ നീ വ്യഥിതനായി മാൻപോലെ ക്ഷീണിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.”

Word by Word

• {'avṛttyā': 'by lack of livelihood

• due to absence of sustenance/means of living', 'kliśyamānaḥ': 'being afflicted, suffering, tormented', 'api': 'even though', 'vṛtti-upāyān': 'means/methods of livelihood

• ways of earning or maintaining oneself', 'vigarhayan': 'censuring, condemning, disparaging', 'māhātmyāt': 'from greatness

• from a sense of high status/dignity (self-regard)', 'vyathase': 'you are pained, distressed, troubled', 'nūnam': 'surely, indeed', 'tena': 'therefore

• because of that', 'asi': 'you are', 'hariṇaḥ': 'a deer (genitive/comparative sense: ‘like a deer’)', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin, emaciated, weak'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (Brāhmaṇa speaker)
• हरिण (deer)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethical tension: refusing legitimate means of livelihood out of pride or an exaggerated sense of dignity can itself become a cause of suffering. Dharma involves discernment—maintaining integrity without letting self-regard turn into self-harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brāhmaṇa addresses someone who is visibly emaciated and distressed. He infers that the person suffers from lack of livelihood yet rejects available ways of support (such as accepted social means of maintenance), and he explains that this refusal—rooted in ‘māhātmya’ or self-importance—is the reason for the person’s weakness.