Shloka 2

Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma

Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच अष्टावक्रोडन्वपृच्छत्‌ तां रूपं विकुरुषे कथम्‌ | नचानृतं ते वक्तव्यं ब्रूहि ब्राह्मणगकाम्यया

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: aṣṭāvakro ’nvapṛcchat tāṃ rūpaṃ vikuruṣe katham | na cānṛtaṃ te vaktavyaṃ brūhi brāhmaṇagakāmyayā ||

Translation

ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਰਾਜਨ! ਅਸ਼ਟਾਵਕ੍ਰ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਇਸਤਰੀ ਨੂੰ ਪੁੱਛਿਆ—“ਤੂੰ ਵਾਰ ਵਾਰ ਆਪਣਾ ਰੂਪ ਕਿਉਂ ਬਦਲਦੀ ਹੈਂ? ਅਤੇ ਜੇ ਤੂੰ ਮੇਰੇ ਵਰਗੇ ਬ੍ਰਾਹਮਣ ਦਾ ਆਦਰ ਤੇ ਸਵੀਕਾਰ ਚਾਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈਂ, ਤਾਂ ਝੂਠ ਨਾ ਬੋਲੀਂ—ਸੱਚ ਦੱਸ।”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'aṣṭāvakraḥ': "Aṣṭāvakra (a sage, literally 'eight-bent')", 'anvapṛcchat': 'asked, questioned (follow-up inquiry)', 'tām': 'her, that woman', 'rūpam': 'form, appearance', 'vikuruṣe': 'you alter/change (your form)', 'katham': 'how?, in what manner?', 'na ca': 'and not

• moreover, do not', 'anṛtam': 'falsehood, untruth', 'te': 'by you / for you', 'vaktavyam': 'to be spoken

• should be said', 'brūhi': 'speak, tell', 'brāhmaṇaga-kāmyayā': 'with the desire to be regarded/accepted by a brāhmaṇa (i.e., seeking a brāhmaṇa’s approval/respect)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Aṣṭāvakra
• the woman (unnamed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness in speech is presented as a prerequisite for moral credibility and for receiving the esteem of the righteous; one who seeks a brāhmaṇa’s approval must not resort to anṛta (falsehood).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts how the sage Aṣṭāvakra interrogates a woman who repeatedly changes her appearance, insisting that she answer honestly and explain the reason for her shifting form.