Shloka 14

Jaratkāru’s Conditional Marriage Vow and Vāsuki’s Offer (जरत्कारु-विवाह-नियमः)

Devanagari script

संदिश्य कुशलप्रश्न॑ कार्यवृत्तान्तमेव च । शिष्यं गौरमुखं नाम शीलवन्तं समाहितम्‌,उग्रश्रवाजी कहते हैं--उत्तम व्रतका पालन करनेवाले दयालु एवं महातपस्वी शमीक मुनिने अपने गौरमुख नामवाले एकाग्रचित्त एवं शीलवान्‌ शिष्यको इस प्रकार आदेश दे कुशल-प्रश्न, कार्य एवं वृतान्तका संदेश देकर राजा परीक्षित्‌के पास भेजा

Transliteration

sandishya kuśalapraśnaṁ kāryavṛttāntam eva ca | śiṣyaṁ gauramukhaṁ nāma śīlavantaṁ samāhitam ||

Translation

Tendo-lhe ordenado que levasse corteses indagações sobre o bem-estar, juntamente com a mensagem necessária e o relato completo dos acontecimentos, Śamīka enviou seu discípulo chamado Gauramukha—firme na conduta e sereno de mente.

Word by Word

• {'sandishya': 'having instructed

• having commissioned (a messenger)', 'kuśala-praśnam': 'inquiry about welfare

• polite asking after well-being', 'kārya': 'the matter at hand

• the task/purpose', 'vṛttānta': 'account of what happened

• narrative of events', 'eva ca': 'and indeed

• and also (emphatic conjunction)', 'śiṣyam': 'disciple

• student', 'gauramukham': "Gauramukha (proper name

• lit. 'fair-faced')", 'nāma': 'named

• by name', 'śīlavantam': 'of good character

• virtuous in conduct', 'samāhitam': 'collected

Speaker

शमीक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śamīka (शमीक)
• Gauramukha (गौरमुख)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when conveying a serious or corrective message, one should begin with respectful welfare-inquiry, communicate the purpose clearly, and report events truthfully through a disciplined and composed messenger—an ethical model of speech and conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śamīka commissions his well-behaved, focused disciple Gauramukha to go as a messenger, carrying polite greetings, the required instruction, and a full report of the situation.