Shloka 21

Śāṇḍilī–Suparṇa Saṃvāda

Conduct, Intention, and Restoration

Devanagari script

किमहं पूर्वमेवेह भवता नाभिचोदित: । उपायोअत्र महानस्ति येनैतदुपपद्यते,“तुमने पहले ही मुझसे यह बात क्यों नहीं कह दी? मेरी दृष्टिमें एक महान्‌ उपाय है, जिससे यह कार्य सिद्ध हो सकता है

Transliteration

kim ahaṃ pūrvam evaiha bhavatā nābhicoditaḥ | upāyo 'tra mahān asti yena etad upapadyate ||

Translation

നീ ഈ കാര്യം മുമ്പേ എനിക്ക് എന്തുകൊണ്ട് പറഞ്ഞില്ല? എന്റെ ദൃഷ്ടിയിൽ ഇവിടെ ഒരു മഹത്തായ ഉപായമുണ്ട്; അതിലൂടെ ഈ കാര്യം സഫലമാക്കാം.

Word by Word

• {'kim': 'why? what?', 'aham': 'I', 'pūrvam eva': 'earlier indeed

• beforehand', 'iha': 'here

• in this matter/context', 'bhavatā': 'by you (instrumental of bhavat)', 'na': 'not', 'abhicoditaḥ': 'urged, prompted, informed/pressed (past passive participle)', 'upāyaḥ': 'means, strategy, expedient', 'atra': 'here

• in this situation', 'mahān': 'great, significant', 'asti': 'is, exists', 'yena': 'by which', 'etat': 'this (matter/plan)', 'upapadyate': 'is accomplished, becomes feasible, is properly effected'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Timely communication and wise counsel matter: when a crisis is disclosed late, a capable advisor still seeks a practical upāya (means) to resolve it, emphasizing responsibility and strategic problem-solving aligned with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada responds to a situation brought before him, expressing that he should have been informed earlier; he then asserts that he knows a significant method by which the intended outcome can be achieved.