Shloka 17

अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing

Devanagari script

न भयाजन्न च कार्पण्यान्न लोभात्‌ त्वामुपाह्नये । तां मे दैवीं गिरं सत्यां शृणु त्वं ब्राह्मणै:ः सह

Transliteration

na bhayāj na ca kārpaṇyān na lobhāt tvām upāhvaye | tāṁ me daivīṁ giraṁ satyāṁ śṛṇu tvaṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ saha, rājan |

Translation

ରାଜନ! ଭୟରୁ, ଦୀନତାରୁ କିମ୍ବା ଲୋଭରୁ ମୁଁ ତୁମକୁ ଡାକୁନି। ଏହି ବ୍ରାହ୍ମଣମାନଙ୍କ ସହିତ, ଦେବବାଣୀ ସମାନ ମୋର ଏହି ସତ୍ୟ କଥାକୁ ଧ୍ୟାନଦେଇ ଶୁଣ।

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• bhayāt: from fear / out of fear
• bhayāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhaya
• Form: neuter, ablative, singular

• na: nor
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• cārpaṇyāt: from wretchedness / from meanness
• cārpaṇyāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārpaṇya
• Form: neuter, ablative, singular

• na: nor
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• lobhāt: from greed / out of greed
• lobhāt: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: lobha
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• tvām: you
• tvām: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tvad
• Form: accusative, singular

• upāhvaye: I call / I summon
• upāhvaye: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: upāhve (upa-√hve/√hvā)
• Form: present indicative, 1st, singular, active

• tām: that (f.)
• tām: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• me: my / of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: asmad
• Form: genitive, singular

• daivīm: divine
• Type: Adjective
• Root: daivī
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• giram: speech / utterance
• giram: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: gir
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• satyām: true
• Type: Adjective
• Root: satya
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• śṛṇu: hear / listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: √śru
• Form: imperative, 2nd, singular, active

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tvad
• Form: nominative, singular

• brāhmaṇaiḥ: with the Brahmins
• brāhmaṇaiḥ: Sahakāraka
• Type: Noun
• Root: brāhmaṇa
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• saha: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha

• rājan: O king
• rājan: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: rājan
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• rājan (the king, unnamed in this verse)
• brāhmaṇāḥ (Brahmins)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The speaker establishes ethical credibility: counsel should not be motivated by fear, weakness, or greed. True instruction to a ruler must be grounded in satya (truth) and delivered with the gravity of dharmic, almost ‘divine’ authority.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka addresses a king and urges him—along with assembled Brahmins—to listen carefully. He prefaces his forthcoming statement by clarifying that he is not calling the king for self-interested reasons, but to speak a truthful, weighty message.