Shloka 20

Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)

Devanagari script

गतागते सुबहुशो ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्‌ लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलं ज्ञातार्थ सुखदु:खयो:

Transliteration

gatāgate subahuśo jñāna-vijñāna-pāragam loka-tattvārtha-kuśalaṃ jñātārthaṃ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ | prācīna-samaye kāśyapa-nāmakaḥ dharmajñaḥ tapasvī brāhmaṇaḥ kasyacid siddha-maharṣeḥ samīpaṃ jagāma; yaḥ dharma-viṣaye śāstra-sampūrṇa-rahasya-jñaḥ bhūta-bhaviṣya-jñāna-vijñāne pravīṇaḥ loka-tattva-jñāne kuśalaḥ sukha-duḥkha-rahasya-vedī janma-mṛtyu-tattva-jñaḥ pāpa-puṇya-jñaḥ ucca-nīca-prāṇināṃ karma-anusāra-prāptāyā gatyāḥ pratyakṣa-draṣṭā cāsīt ||

Translation

तो भूत-भविष्याच्या ज्ञान-विज्ञानात पारंगत, लोकतत्त्वार्थात कुशल आणि सुख-दुःखाचा मर्म जाणणारा होता. प्राचीन काळी धर्मज्ञ व तपस्वी ब्राह्मण काश्यप अशाच एका सिद्ध महर्षीकडे गेला—जो केवळ श्रुती-विद्येत न थांबता तत्त्वज्ञानात स्थित होता; जन्म-मृत्यूचे सत्य जाणत होता; पाप-पुण्याचा विवेक करीत होता; आणि कर्मानुसार उच्च-नीच देहधाऱ्यांची गती प्रत्यक्ष पाहत होता.

Word by Word

• गतागते: in going and coming; in repeated visits/approaches
• गतागते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गत-आगत (गम् धातु से क्त; उपसर्ग आ- सहित)
• Form: neuter, locative, singular

• सुबहुशः: very many times; repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सु-बहुशस्

• ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्: one who has gone to the far shore of knowledge and realization
• ज्ञानविज्ञानपारगम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञान-विज्ञान-पारग (पारग)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलम्: skilled in the meaning/principles of worldly reality
• लोकतत्त्वार्थकुशलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोक-तत्त्व-अर्थ-कुशल
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• ज्ञातार्थम्: one who knows the truth/meaning
• ज्ञातार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ज्ञात-अर्थ (ज्ञा धातु से क्त)
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• सुखदुःखयोः: of pleasure and pain
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुख-दुःख
• Form: neuter, genitive, dual

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• कश्यप (Kāśyapa)
• सिद्ध महर्षि (a Siddha Maharṣi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma is best understood through a guide who unites śāstric mastery with direct insight into karma’s consequences—how actions shape pleasure and pain, birth and death, and the destinies of beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

An ascetic Brāhmaṇa named Kāśyapa approaches a spiritually perfected great sage renowned for comprehensive knowledge—scriptural, experiential, and ethical—setting up a consultation on dharma and the workings of karma.