Shloka 92

Devanagari script

अनेन धर्मप्राप्त्यर्थ शुभा दत्ता पुरानध । धेनुर्विप्राय राजर्षे तप:स्वाध्यायशीलिने,निष्पाप राजर्षे! इसने धर्मकी प्राप्तिके लिये एक तपस्वी और स्वाध्यायशील ब्राह्मणको एक दूध देनेवाली उत्तम गाय दी थी

Transliteration

virūpa uvāca |

anena dharmaprāptyarthaṁ śubhā dattā purā nṛpa |

dhenur viprāya rājarṣe tapaḥsvādhyāyaśīline |

niṣpāpa rājarṣe ||

Translation

നിഷ്പാപ രാജർഷേ! മുമ്പ് ധർമ്മപ്രാപ്തിക്കായി ഈ വ്യക്തി തപസ്സിലും സ്വാധ്യായത്തിലും നിഷ്ഠയുള്ള ഒരു ബ്രാഹ്മണന് ഒരു ശുഭമായ, ഉത്തമമായ പാലുതരുന്ന പശുവിനെ ദാനമായി നൽകി.

Word by Word

अनेनby this (act/means)

धर्मdharma, merit

प्राप्ति-अर्थम्for the purpose of attainment

शुभाauspicious, excellent

दत्ताgiven

पुराformerly, earlier

ननुindeed, surely (particle)

धेनुःa milch-cow

विप्रायto a brahmin

राजर्षेO royal sage

तपः-स्वाध्याय-शीलिनेto one devoted to austerity and self-study

निष्पापO sinless one

राजर्षेO royal sage

Speaker

विरूप उवाच

Characters & Entities

Virūpa

king (nṛpa; addressed as rājarṣi)

brāhmaṇa (vipra)

milch-cow (dhenu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is pursued not only through personal restraint but also through ethically directed generosity—supporting a worthy recipient devoted to tapas and svādhyāya. The verse highlights that giving (especially sustaining gifts like a milch-cow) to the learned and disciplined is a recognized means of acquiring merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

Virūpa addresses a king (called a royal sage) and recounts a past act: someone gave an excellent milch-cow to a brāhmaṇa known for austerity and Vedic study, explicitly intending the gift as a means to attain dharma/merit.