Shloka 6

Haryaśva’s Agreement with Gālava and the Birth of Vasumanā

Nārada’s narration

Devanagari script

वक्तुमिच्छामि तु सखे यथा जानासि मां पुरा । न तथा वित्तवानस्मि क्षीणं वित्तं च मे सखे

Transliteration

vaktum icchāmi tu sakhe yathā jānāsi māṃ purā | na tathā vittavān asmi kṣīṇaṃ vittaṃ ca me sakhe ||

Translation

ਸਖੇ! ਮੈਂ ਇਕ ਗੱਲ ਕਹਿਣੀ ਚਾਹੁੰਦਾ ਹਾਂ। ਜਿਵੇਂ ਤੂੰ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਧਨਵਾਨ ਸਮਝਦਾ ਸੀ, ਹੁਣ ਮੈਂ ਉਹੋ ਜਿਹਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਰਿਹਾ; ਮਿੱਤਰ, ਇਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਮੇਰਾ ਧਨ-ਵੈਭਵ ਘਟ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• {'vaktum': 'to speak, to say', 'icchāmi': 'I wish, I desire', 'tu': 'but, however, indeed', 'sakhe': 'O friend (vocative of sakhi)', 'yathā': 'as, in the manner that', 'jānāsi': 'you know (2nd person singular, present)', 'mām': 'me', 'purā': 'formerly, earlier', 'na tathā': 'not so, not in that same way', 'vittavān': 'wealthy, possessing wealth', 'asmi': 'I am', 'kṣīṇam': 'diminished, exhausted, reduced', 'vittam': 'wealth, property, means', 'ca': 'and', 'me': 'my, of me'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Worldly prosperity is unstable; one should speak truthfully about one’s condition without pride, and recognize that wealth can diminish—encouraging humility and detachment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada addresses a friend and clarifies that, contrary to the earlier impression of him as wealthy, his fortune has now declined; he prepares the listener for what he is about to explain.