Shloka 20

Devanagari script

नाहं शप्त: प्रतिशपामि कंचिद्‌ दम द्वारं हामृतस्येह वेझि । गुहां ब्रह्म तदिदं ब्रवीमि न मानुषाच्छेछतरं हि किंचित्‌,कोई मुझे शाप दे दे तो भी मैं बदलेमें उसे शाप नहीं देता। इन्द्रियसंयमको ही मोक्षका द्वार मानता हूँ। इस समय तुमलोगोंको एक बहुत गुप्त बात बता रहा हूँ, सुनो। मनुष्ययोनिसे बढ़कर कोई उत्तम योनि नहीं है

Transliteration

nāhaṁ śaptaḥ pratiśapāmi kañcid dama-dvāraṁ hy amṛtasyeha viddhi | guhāṁ brahma tad idaṁ bravīmi na mānuṣāc chreṣṭhataraṁ hi kiñcit ||

Translation

Haṁsa berkata: “Walaupun aku dikutuk, aku tidak mengutuk sesiapa sebagai balasan. Ketahuilah bahawa pengendalian diri—pengekangan indera—ialah pintu menuju keabadian (moksha). Kini aku akan menyampaikan suatu rahsia yang amat mendalam: tiada keadaan yang lebih unggul daripada menjadi manusia.”

Word by Word

{'nāham''I do not', 'śaptaḥ': 'cursed', 'pratiśapāmi': 'I curse in return

I counter-curse', 'kañcit''anyone', 'dama': 'self-control

restraint of the senses and mind', 'dvāram''door

gateway', 'amṛtasya''of immortality

of the deathless state (mokṣa)', 'iha''here

in this world/teaching context', 'viddhi''know

understand', 'guhām''a secret

hidden teaching', 'brahma''Brahman

the Absolute reality', 'tad idam''this very (truth)', 'bravīmi': 'I say

I declare', 'mānuṣāt''than the human (state/birth)', 'śreṣṭhataraṁ': 'more excellent

superior', 'hi''indeed', 'kiñcit': 'anything'}

Speaker

हंस उवाच

Characters & Entities

ह

हंस (Haṁsa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Do not retaliate with harm even when harmed; cultivate dama (self-restraint), because mastery of the senses and mind is presented as the doorway to amṛtatva—liberation. The verse also elevates human birth as uniquely suited for realizing Brahman.

What is happening in the narrative?

In a didactic setting within Śānti Parva, the Haṁsa speaks as a spiritual instructor, declaring a personal ethic of non-retaliation, then revealing a ‘secret’ doctrinal point: self-control leads to immortality (mokṣa), and the human state is the most advantageous for this pursuit.