Shloka 47

अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः

Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge

Devanagari script

अयं चापि विशुद्धात्मन्‌ पुराणे श्रूयते विभो । मरुत्तेन महाबुद्धे गीत: श्लोको महात्मना

Transliteration

ayaṃ cāpi viśuddhātman purāṇe śrūyate vibho | maruttena mahābuddhe gītaḥ śloko mahātmanā |

Translation

ਹੇ ਵਿਸ਼ੁੱਧ ਆਤਮਾ, ਹੇ ਵਿਭੋ! ਪੁਰਾਣੀ ਪਰੰਪਰਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਹ ਵੀ ਸੁਣਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ—ਹੇ ਮਹਾਬੁੱਧੀ ਰਾਮ, ਮਹਾਤਮਾ ਮਰੁੱਤ ਨੇ ਇਹ ਸ਼ਲੋਕ ਗਾਇਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਦਾ ਭਾਵ ਇਹ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਜੇ ਗੁਰੂ ਵੀ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਨਾਲ ਫੂਲ ਕੇ ਕਰਤੱਵ-ਅਕਰਤੱਵ ਦੀ ਪਛਾਣ ਗੁਆ ਬੈਠੇ ਅਤੇ ਕੁਪਥ ਨੂੰ ਅਪਣਾ ਲਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਤਿਆਗ ਕਰਨਾ ਵਿਧੇਯ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• {'ayam': 'this (statement/verse)', 'ca api': 'and also

• moreover', 'viśuddhātman': 'O pure-souled one (vocative)', 'purāṇe': 'in the Purāṇa

• in ancient tradition', 'śrūyate': 'is heard

• is traditionally reported', 'vibho': 'O mighty one

• O lord (vocative)', 'maruttena': 'by Marutta (instrumental)', 'mahābuddhe': 'O great-minded/very wise one (vocative)', 'gītaḥ': 'sung

• uttered (as a verse)', 'ślokaḥ': 'verse

• stanza', 'mahātmanā': 'by the great-souled one (instrumental)'}

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Marutta
• Purāṇa (ancient tradition)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Moral authority is conditional on dharma: even a teacher or elder is not to be followed if pride leads him to abandon right conduct and lose discernment of duty versus non-duty; one should withdraw allegiance from such a path.

What is happening in the narrative?

Rāma cites an older, Purāṇa-sourced saying attributed to the great king Marutta, invoking traditional precedent to support an ethical point about when it is proper to renounce guidance that has turned unrighteous.