Shloka 32

Nakula’s Declaration and the Uñchavṛtti Brāhmaṇa’s Superior Merit (Āśvamedhika Parva, Adhyāya 92)

Devanagari script

वेदांक्ष ब्रह्मचर्येण न्‍न्यायतः प्रार्थयामहे । न्यायेनोत्तरकालं च गृहेभ्यो नि:सृता वयम्‌,हम ब्रह्मचर्यका पालन करके न्यायतः वेदोंको प्राप्त करना चाहते हैं और अन्तमें न्यायपूर्वक ही हम घर छोड़कर निकले हैं

Transliteration

vedān kṣa brahmacaryeṇa nyāyataḥ prārthayāmahe | nyāyenottarakālaṃ ca gṛhebhyo niḥsṛtā vayam ||

Translation

Dengan memelihara brahmacarya, kami berhasrat memperoleh Veda secara yang benar dan sah. Dan pada waktunya, menurut keadilan serta kepatutan, kami juga telah meninggalkan rumah kami.

Word by Word

वेदान्the Vedas

चand

ब्रह्मचर्येणby (means of) celibate studentship

न्यायतःrightfully, according to rule/justice

प्रार्थयामहेwe request/seek

न्यायेनby justice/right conduct

उत्तरकालम्the later time; the end (later period)

चand

गृहेभ्यःfrom (our) homes

निःसृताःgone out, departed

वयम्we

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Vedas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred knowledge should be pursued through disciplined brahmacarya and obtained by rightful means (nyāya), and major life-transitions—like leaving home—should likewise be undertaken with ethical propriety rather than impulse or wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) reports a collective statement: the group identifies themselves as brahmacārins who are seeking the Vedas properly and explains that they have left their homes in due course and in accordance with justice and accepted norms.