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Shloka 64

Adhyaya 15Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

क्षुत्पिपासाभवं दुःखं यच्च मूर्च्छाप्रदं महत् ।

एतेषां त्राणदानन्तु मन्ये स्वर्गसुखात् परम् ॥

kṣutpipāsābhavaṃ duḥkhaṃ yac ca mūrcchāpradaṃ mahat |

eteṣāṃ trāṇadānaṃ tu manye svargasukhāt param ||

ക്ഷുധയും തൃഷ്ണയും ജനിപ്പിക്കുന്ന ദുഃഖവും, മൂർച്ച വരുത്തുന്ന മഹാതാപവും—ഇവയാൽ പീഡിതരായ ജീവികൾക്ക് രക്ഷ നൽകുന്നതിനെ ഞാൻ സ്വർഗ്ഗസുഖങ്ങളെക്കാളും ശ്രേഷ്ഠമെന്നു കരുതുന്നു।

kṣutpipāsābhavamarising from hunger and thirst
kṣutpipāsābhavam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of duḥkham
TypeAdjective
Rootkṣut-pipāsā-bhava (प्रातिपदिक; क्षुत्+पिपासा+भव)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन); तत्पुरुष-समासः—‘क्षुत्पिपासयोः भवम्’ (arising from hunger and thirst)
duḥkhamsuffering, pain
duḥkham:
Karma (कर्म) of implied ‘to be removed/relieved’ in sense; object of evaluation
TypeNoun
Rootduḥkha (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter (नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular (एकवचन)
yatwhich
yat:
Sambandha (सम्बन्ध) relative connector
TypeNoun
Rootyad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/द्वितीया), Singular; relative pronoun correlating with implied ‘tat’
caand
ca:
Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
TypeIndeclinable
Rootca (अव्यय)
FormConjunction (समुच्चयबोधक अव्यय)
mūrcchāpradamcausing fainting
mūrcchāpradam:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of duḥkham
TypeAdjective
Rootmūrcchā-prada (प्रातिपदिक; मूर्च्छा+प्रद)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुष—‘मूर्च्छां प्रददाति’ (giving/causing fainting)
mahatgreat, intense
mahat:
Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of duḥkham
TypeAdjective
Rootmahat (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular; irregular stem महत्
eteṣāmof these
eteṣām:
Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध) with trāṇadānam
TypeNoun
Rootetad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormGenitive (षष्ठी), Plural (बहुवचन); ‘of these (sufferings)’
trāṇadānamthe giving of deliverance
trāṇadānam:
Karma (कर्म) of manye (what is considered)
TypeNoun
Roottrāṇa-dāna (प्रातिपदिक; त्राण+दान)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; तत्पुरुष—‘त्राणस्य दानम्’ (giving of rescue)
tuindeed, but
tu:
Nipāta (निपात)
TypeIndeclinable
Roottu (अव्यय)
FormParticle (निपात), contrast/emphasis
manyeI consider
manye:
Kriyā (क्रिया) main verb; Karta=aham implied
TypeVerb
Rootman (धातु)
FormPresent tense (लट्), 1st person (उत्तमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन), Parasmaipada (परस्मैपद)
svargasukhātthan heavenly pleasure
svargasukhāt:
Apādāna (अपादान) in comparison with param
TypeNoun
Rootsvarga-sukha (प्रातिपदिक; स्वर्ग+सुख)
FormNeuter, Ablative (पञ्चमी), Singular; तत्पुरुष—‘स्वर्गस्य सुखम्’ (heavenly pleasure)
paramhigher, superior
param:
Predicative complement (विशेष्य-विशेषणभाव) to trāṇadānam
TypeAdjective
Rootpara (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; comparative sense ‘higher/superior’
King (rājā) speaking (context: in/near narakaaddressed to divine agents)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

DharmaCompassionEthicsKarmic consequenceSupremacy of protecting the distressed

FAQs

The verse elevates active compassion (protecting those in extreme suffering) above personal reward. It frames dharma not as a transaction for svarga, but as a commitment to relieve others’ duḥkha even at the cost of delaying one’s own heavenly enjoyment.

Primarily Dharma/ācāra material within a narrative setting; it is not directly sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita, but functions as ethical instruction embedded in vaṃśānucarita-style storytelling (exemplary conduct of a ruler).

Hunger and thirst symbolize existential lack; ‘fainting’ suggests collapse of egoic endurance. The teaching hints that transcending svarga-oriented desire occurs when one’s consciousness turns outward into universal empathy—an inner ‘ascent’ higher than heaven.