Shloka 21

The Glory of Truthful Oaths and Keeping One’s Promise

Satya & Pratijñā

Devanagari script

इति श्रुत्वा त्वसौ विप्रं चोक्तवान्वीरविक्रमः । शृणु मे वचनं ब्रह्मन्बालास्ति मम कन्यका

Transliteration

iti śrutvā tvasau vipraṃ coktavānvīravikramaḥ | śṛṇu me vacanaṃ brahmanbālāsti mama kanyakā

Translation

ဤသို့ကြားသော် သူရဲကောင်းဝီရဝိက్రమသည် ဗြာဟ္မဏအား ပြော၏—“အို ဗြဟ္မန်၊ ငါ၏စကားကို နားထောင်လော့၊ ငါ့တွင် ငယ်ရွယ်သော သမီးကညာတစ်ဦး ရှိ၏။”

Word by Word

• इति: thus
• इति: Sambandha (Discourse marker/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; इत्यादि-उक्तिप्रकारसूचक (quotative particle)

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• श्रुत्वा: Kriya (पूर्वक्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund); पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (having heard)

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक (particle: but/indeed)

• असौ: that man (he)
• असौ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: असद्/अदस् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• विप्रम्: the brāhmaṇa
• विप्रम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• उक्तवान्: said
• उक्तवान्: Kriya (Main predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: क्तवतु-प्रत्ययान्त (past active participle); पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; कर्तरि प्रयोग (having spoken/said)

• वीरविक्रमः: Vīravikrama (the valiant one)
• वीरविक्रमः: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीरविक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (वीरः च विक्रमः च/वीर-विक्रमः = valiant in prowess)

• शृणु: listen
• शृणु: Kriya (Command/आज्ञा)
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), मध्यमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मे: my
• मे: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th) एकवचन (enclitic); सम्बन्ध (my)

• वचनम्: words/speech
• वचनम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मन्: O brāhmaṇa
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (Address/सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8th/vocative), एकवचन

• बाला: a young girl
• बाला: Karta (Subject of asti/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

• अस्ति: there is
• अस्ति: Kriya (Existential/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (present), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• मम: of me/my
• मम: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी (6th), एकवचन

• कन्यका: a daughter
• कन्यका: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-समाना)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्यका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; बाला इति समानाधिकरणम्

Speaker

Vīra-vikramaḥ (a valorous man/king) speaking to a brāhmaṇa

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: vira

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: city

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: त्वसौ = तु + असौ; चोक्तवान् = च + उक्तवान्; ब्रह्मन्बाला = ब्रह्मन् + बाला; बालास्ति = बाला + अस्ति

Characters & Entities

• brāhmaṇa (vipra)

FAQs

Who is being addressed in this verse and why is it significant?

The speaker addresses a vipra (brāhmaṇa), signaling a respectful, dharma-oriented dialogue where counsel or a consequential request is presented to a learned religious authority.

What is the immediate narrative function of mentioning “my daughter” here?

It introduces the central subject of the speaker’s forthcoming request or decision, preparing the listener (the brāhmaṇa) for counsel regarding the welfare, marriage, or protection of the maiden.

What ethical tone does the verse establish?

It establishes deference and deliberation: a powerful person seeks to proceed through proper speech and consultation, reflecting dharma where personal power is guided by learned authority and right conduct.