Shloka 24

अग्निनाम-वंश-निरूपणम् | Agni-Names and Lineage Enumeration

Devanagari script

अहिंसायां तु निरता यतयो द्विजसत्तम | कुर्वन्त्येव हि हिंसां ते यत्नादल्‍्पतरा भवेत्‌,द्विजश्रेष्ठी यतिलोग अहिंसा-धर्मके पालनमें तत्पर होते हैं, परंतु वे भी हिंसा कर ही डालते हैं (अर्थात्‌ उनके द्वारा भी हिंसा हो ही जाती है)। अवश्य ही यत्नपूर्वक चेष्टा करनेसे हिंसाकी मात्रा बहुत कम हो सकती है

Transliteration

ahiṃsāyāṃ tu niratā yatayo dvijasattama | kurvanty eva hi hiṃsāṃ te yatnād alpatarā bhavet ||

Translation

മാർക്കണ്ഡേയൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഹേ ദ്വിജസത്തമാ! അഹിംസയിൽ നിരതരായ യതികളും (ജീവിതവ്യവഹാരത്തിൽ) ഹിംസ ചെയ്യാതെ ഇരിക്കാനാവില്ല; എന്നാൽ ജാഗ്രതയും പരിശ്രമവും കൊണ്ടു അതിന്റെ അളവ് അത്യल्पമാക്കാം.

Word by Word

{'ahiṃsāyām''in non-violence

in the practice/observance of ahiṃsā (locative)', 'tu''but

however (contrast/emphasis)', 'niratāḥ''engaged in

intent upon', 'yatayaḥ''ascetics

disciplined seekers', 'dvija-sattama''O best of the twice-born (honorific address to a brāhmaṇa)', 'kurvanti eva': 'they do indeed do

they certainly perform', 'hi''for

indeed (particle of emphasis/justification)', 'hiṃsām''violence

harm', 'te''they', 'yatnāt': 'by effort

with vigilance (ablative)', 'alpa-tarā''smaller

minimal (comparative feminine)', 'bhavet''may become

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

dvijasattama (addressed brāhmaṇa)

yatayaḥ (ascetics/renunciants)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Absolute non-violence is extremely difficult in embodied life; even those committed to ahiṃsā may cause harm unintentionally. Dharma therefore emphasizes mindful restraint—through careful effort, the amount of harm can be reduced to the minimum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a brāhmaṇa and reflects on ethical practice: he notes that renunciants devoted to ahiṃsā still end up causing some harm, but disciplined vigilance can greatly lessen it. The statement frames ahiṃsā as an ideal approached through continual effort rather than a claim of perfect purity.