Shloka 20

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

विविधानां च भूतानां जड़मा: परमा नृप । जड़मानामपि तथा द्विपदा: परमा मता:

Transliteration

vividhānāṁ ca bhūtānāṁ jaṅgamāḥ paramā nṛpa | jaṅgamānām api tathā dvipadāḥ paramā matāḥ ||

Translation

महाराज! विविध प्राण्यांमध्ये जंगम (चालणारे-फिरणारे) श्रेष्ठ मानले गेले आहेत; आणि त्या जंगमांमध्येही द्विपद—मनुष्य—सर्वश्रेष्ठ मानले गेले आहेत.

Word by Word

• विविधानाम्: of various
• विविधानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भूतानाम्: of beings/creatures
• भूतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• जङ्गमाः: moving (creatures)
• जङ्गमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जङ्गम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमाः: supreme/best
• परमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• जङ्गमानाम्: of the moving ones
• जङ्गमानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जङ्गम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अपि: even/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• तथा: likewise/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• द्विपदाः: two-footed (beings, i.e., humans)
• द्विपदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विपद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परमाः: supreme/best
• परमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मताः: are considered/thought
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त (kta), Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Passive (past participle sense)

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• nṛpa (king)
• bhūtāni (living beings)
• jaṅgamāḥ (moving creatures)
• dvipadāḥ (humans)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a graded view of life: mobile beings are superior to immobile ones, and among mobile beings humans are highest—implying greater capacity and responsibility for ethical choice (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara addresses a king and frames an ethical-anthropological point about the status of beings, preparing the listener to understand human life as uniquely suited for dharma, restraint, and right conduct.