Shloka 4

अव्यक्तकालमान-निर्णयः

Measures of Time from the Unmanifest; Creation, Elements, and the Primacy of Mind

Devanagari script

साध्या ऊचु. शकुने वयं सम देवा वै साध्यास्त्वामनुयुड्क्ष्महे । पृच्छामस्त्वां मोक्षधर्म भवांश्व॒ किल मोक्षवित्‌

Transliteration

sādhyā ūcuḥ—śakune vayaṃ sama-devā vai sādhyās tvām anuyokṣmahe | pṛcchāmas tvāṃ mokṣa-dharmaṃ bhavāṃś ca kila mokṣa-vit ||

Translation

സാധ്യന്മാർ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ ശകുനി (ഹംസാ)! ഞങ്ങൾ സാധ്യദേവന്മാരാണ്; ഞങ്ങൾ നിങ്ങളോട് ചോദിക്കുവാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നു. മോക്ഷധർമ്മത്തെക്കുറിച്ച് ഞങ്ങൾ ചോദിക്കുന്നു; നിങ്ങൾ മോക്ഷതത്ത്വം അറിയുന്നവൻ എന്നു സർവത്ര പ്രസിദ്ധമാണ്.

Word by Word

• {'sādhyāḥ': 'the Sādhya gods (a class of deities)', 'ūcuḥ': 'said (perfect tense, 3rd person plural)', 'śakune': 'O Śakuni

• vocative (here used as an epithet for the swan/haṃsa in the narrative)', 'vayam': 'we', 'sama-devāḥ': 'divine beings

• equal among the gods (contextual epithet emphasizing their deva-status)', 'vai': 'indeed, surely (emphatic particle)', 'tvām': 'you', 'anuyokṣmahe': 'we wish to question / we will ask (desiderative/future sense in context)', 'pṛcchāmaḥ': 'we ask', 'mokṣa-dharma': 'the doctrine/duty/path concerning liberation', 'bhavān': 'your honor

• you (respectful singular)', 'kila': 'it is said

• indeed (reportive/emphatic particle)', 'mokṣa-vit': 'knower of liberation

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sādhyas
• Śakuni (as epithet for Haṃsa/Swan)
• Mokṣa-dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse establishes the authority of the teacher and the legitimacy of inquiry: even divine beings approach a reputed knower to learn mokṣa-dharma, implying that liberation is grounded in right understanding transmitted through questioning and instruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group of deities called the Sādhyas address the figure called Śakuni (here an epithet associated with the haṃsa/swan) and request instruction on mokṣa-dharma, citing his widespread reputation as a knower of liberation.