Shloka 18

Sabhā-praveśa, Dāna, and the Courtly Convergence (सभा-प्रवेशः दानं च)

Devanagari script

कुक्कुरो वेणुजड्यो5थ कालाप: कठ एव च | मुनयो धर्मविद्वांसो धृतात्मानो जितेन्द्रिया:

Transliteration

kukkuro veṇujaḍyo ’tha kālāpaḥ kaṭha eva ca | munayo dharmavidvāṁso dhṛtātmāno jitendriyāḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— കുക്കുരൻ, വേണുജഡ്യൻ, കാലാപൻ, കഠൻ— ഇവർ ധർമ്മവിദഗ്ധരായ മുനിമാർ; ധൃതാത്മാക്കളും ഇന്ദ്രിയജയികളും ആയിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

कुक्कुरःKukkura (a person named ‘Dog’/Kukkura)

वेणुजड्यःVeṇujaḍya (a person; lit. ‘bamboo-stiff/rigid’)

अथand/then

कालापःKālāpa (a person named Kālāpa)

कठःKaṭha (a person named Kaṭha)

एवindeed/also/just

चand

मुनयःsages

धर्मविद्वांसःknowers of dharma

धृतात्मानःself-controlled/steadfast-souled

जितेन्द्रियाःhaving conquered the senses

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kukkura

Veṇujaḍya

Kālāpa

Kaṭha

Munis (sages)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical ideal of the muni: true authority in dharma rests with those who are learned, inwardly steady, and sense-controlled—suggesting that moral insight is grounded in discipline and self-mastery.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana enumerates notable sages present or being referenced in the episode, characterizing them collectively as knowers of dharma and exemplars of ascetic restraint.