Shloka 41

Agni’s Withdrawal to the Forest and Identification with Āṅgirasa (अग्न्याङ्गिरस-इतिहासः)

Devanagari script

दुर्ज्ेयः शाश्व॒तो धर्म: स च सत्ये प्रतिष्ठित: श्रुतिप्रमाणो धर्म: स्यादिति वृद्धानुशासनम्‌,धर्मज्ञ पुरुष सत्य और सरलताको सर्वोत्तम धर्म बताते हैं। सनातनधर्मके स्वरूपको जानना तो अत्यन्त कठिन है, परंतु वह सत्यमें प्रतिष्ठित है। जो वेदोंके द्वारा प्रमाणित हो, वही धर्म है--यह वृद्ध पुरुषोंका उपदेश है

Transliteration

durjeyaḥ śāśvato dharmaḥ sa ca satye pratiṣṭhitaḥ | śrutipramāṇo dharmaḥ syād iti vṛddhānuśāsanam ||

Translation

ബ്രാഹ്മണൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ധർമ്മം ശാശ്വതവും ഗ്രഹിക്കാൻ ദുഷ്കരവുമാണ്; എങ്കിലും അത് സത്യത്തിൽ ദൃഢമായി പ്രതിഷ്ഠിതമാണ്. മൂപ്പന്മാരുടെ ഉപദേശം: ശ്രുതി (വേദം) പ്രമാണീകരിക്കുന്നതേ ധർമ്മമെന്ന് കരുതണം.

Word by Word

• {'durjeyaḥ': 'hard to conquer/overcome

• difficult to comprehend', 'śāśvataḥ': 'eternal, perennial', 'dharmaḥ': 'righteous order

• right conduct', 'satye': 'in truth

• in truthfulness', 'pratiṣṭhitaḥ': 'established

• firmly grounded', 'śruti': 'revealed scripture

• the Veda', 'pramāṇa': 'authoritative means of knowledge

• valid proof', 'śrutipramāṇaḥ': 'having Śruti as its authority

• Veda-grounded', 'syāt': 'should be

• is to be considered', 'iti': 'thus

• so (marking quotation/conclusion)', 'vṛddha': 'elder

• venerable person', 'anuśāsanam': 'instruction

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (a brāhmaṇa speaker)
• धर्म (Dharma)
• सत्य (Truth)
• श्रुति/वेद (Śruti/Veda)
• वृद्ध (Elders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is subtle and difficult to fully grasp, but its foundation is satya (truth). The verse further asserts a traditional criterion: dharma is that which is supported by Śruti (Vedic revelation), as taught by elders.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa speaker offers a doctrinal clarification about dharma—its eternal nature, its grounding in truth, and the role of Vedic testimony and elder tradition in determining what counts as righteous conduct.