Shloka 30

Umā–Maheśvara-saṃvāda: Varṇa-bhraṃśa, Ācāra (Vṛtta), and Karmic Ascent/Decline

Devanagari script

दिवं स्पृशत्यशब्दो<स्य त्रस्यन्ति पितरश्न॒ वै

Transliteration

divaṃ spṛśaty aśabdo 'sya trasyanti pitaraś ca vai | devāś ca tasya vairasya bhāginaḥ syur mahāmate | na cāsya dīptaḥ pāvako gṛhṇīyād haviṣo 'rpitam ||

Translation

Dharma disse: «A má reputação de tal pessoa sobe até o céu. Seus ancestrais se alarmam, e até os deuses se voltam contra ele com grande hostilidade. O Fogo ardente, embora poderoso, não aceita a oblação que ele oferece.»

Word by Word

• दिवम्: heaven
• दिवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिव्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• स्पृशति: touches/reaches
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्पृश्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अशब्दः: ill-fame, bad report
• अशब्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशब्द
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्य: of him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• त्रस्यन्ति: tremble, are afraid
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रस्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• पितरः: the ancestors (pitṛs)
• पितरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नु: indeed/now (emphatic particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: नु

• वै: indeed, certainly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

Speaker

धर्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dharma
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Devas (gods)
• Pāvaka/Agni (Fire)
• Havis (oblation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unethical conduct brings far-reaching consequences: one’s disgrace affects not only oneself but also one’s ancestors and standing among the gods; even ritual acts lose efficacy when the doer is morally tainted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dharma is warning about the spiritual and social fallout of a person’s wrongdoing: his bad reputation spreads upward, the Pitṛs are distressed, the gods become antagonistic, and Agni refuses to receive his sacrificial offering.