Shloka 12

Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मक्षत्रविरोधेन भविता कुलसंकर: । पौत्रस्ते भविता राजंस्तेजोवीर्यसमन्वित:

Transliteration

cyavana uvāca | brahmakṣatravirodhena bhavitā kulasaṅkaraḥ | pautras te bhavitā rājan tejo-vīrya-samanvitaḥ, nareśvara |

Translation

ച്യവനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“നരേശ്വരാ! ബ്രാഹ്മണനും ക്ഷത്രിയനും തമ്മിലുള്ള വൈരത്താൽ കുലസങ്കരം സംഭവിക്കും. എങ്കിലും, രാജാവേ, നിന്റെ ഒരു പൗത്രൻ തേജസ്സും വീര്യവും സമന്വിതനായിരിക്കും.”

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मक्षत्रविरोधेन: by the opposition between brahmins and kshatriyas
• ब्रह्मक्षत्रविरोधेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मक्षत्रविरोध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Periphrastic Future (Lut), Third, Singular

• कुलसंकरः: intermixture/confusion of lineages
• कुलसंकरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुलसंकर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पौत्रः: grandson
• पौत्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पौत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ते: of you/your
• ते: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• भविता: will be
• भविता: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Periphrastic Future (Lut), Third, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तेजोवीर्यसमन्वितः: endowed with splendor and valor
• तेजोवीर्यसमन्वितः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तेजोवीर्यसमन्वित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men
• नरेश्वर: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

च्यवन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Cyavana (sage)
• King (addressed as rājan, nareśvara)
• Brahmins (brahma)
• Kshatriyas (kṣatra)
• Grandson (pautra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that sustained conflict between spiritual authority (brahma) and royal power (kṣatra) destabilizes society and lineage continuity (kulasaṅkara). At the same time, it affirms that rightful qualities—tejas and vīrya—can still manifest in a future descendant, implying that dharmic restoration is possible even after social strain.

What is happening in the narrative?

The sage Cyavana addresses a king and speaks in a predictive tone: he foresees lineage-confusion arising from Brahmin–Kshatriya antagonism, yet also foretells that the king will have a grandson distinguished by splendour and heroic prowess.