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Shloka 15

Saṃsāra-Gahana Allegory: The Brāhmaṇa in the Forest and Well (संसारगहन-आख्यान)

क्रमेण परिसर्पन्तं वल्लीवृक्षसमावृतम्‌,आसते मधु संवृत्य पूर्वमेव निकेतजा: । वह लताओं तथा वृक्षोंसे घिरे हुए उस कूपमें क्रमश: बढ़ा आ रहा था। वह ब्राह्मण, जिस वृक्षकी शाखापर लटका था, उसकी छोटी-छोटी टहनियोंपर पहलेसे ही मधुके छत्तोंसे पैदा हुई अनेक रूपवाली, घोर एवं भयंकर मधुमक्खियाँ मधुको घेरकर बैठी हुई थीं

krameṇa parisarpantaṃ vallīvṛkṣasamāvṛtam, āsate madhu saṃvṛtya pūrvam eva niketajāḥ |

À medida que ele subia, pouco a pouco, o poço estava coberto por trepadeiras e árvores. E, nos tenros raminhos do galho em que o homem se pendurava, enxames de abelhas—nascidos ali desde muito antes—ficavam aglomerados em torno do seu mel, de muitas formas, terríveis e assustadoras. A imagem ressalta que, mesmo quando alguém luta para sobreviver, os prazeres sedutores e suas ferroadas cercam a mente, prendendo-a ao perigo em vez de à libertação.

क्रमेणgradually, in sequence
क्रमेण:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootक्रम
FormAdverbial (instrumental singular used adverbially)
परिसर्पन्तम्creeping/crawling (towards/around)
परिसर्पन्तम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootपरि√सृप्
FormPresent active participle; accusative singular masculine/neuter (agreeing with an implied object)
वल्ली-वृक्ष-समावृतम्covered/encircled by creepers and trees
वल्ली-वृक्ष-समावृतम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootवल्ली-वृक्ष-समावृत
FormAccusative singular masculine/neuter
आसतेthey sit/are seated
आसते:
TypeVerb
Root√आस्
FormPresent tense; 3rd person plural; Ātmanepada
मधुhoney
मधु:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootमधु
FormAccusative singular neuter
संवृत्यhaving covered/encircled
संवृत्य:
TypeVerb
Rootसम्√वृ
FormAbsolutive (gerund)
पूर्वम्before, earlier
पूर्वम्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootपूर्व
FormAdverb
एवindeed, just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
FormParticle
निकेतजाःthose born in the dwelling/nest-dwellers
निकेतजाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनिकेतज
FormNominative plural masculine

विदुर उवाच

K
kūpa (well)
V
vallī (creepers)
V
vṛkṣa (trees)
Ś
śākhā/latā (branch/twigs implied)
M
madhu (honey)
M
madhumakṣikāḥ (bees, implied by context)
T
the hanging man (brāhmaṇa in the narrative context)

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights how seductive pleasures (symbolized by honey) can distract and endanger a person already trapped in peril. Ethically, it urges vigilance and detachment: do not cling to fleeting sweetness when one’s situation calls for discernment and liberation.

In the allegorical scene, a well is overgrown with creepers and trees, and as something creeps upward step by step, bees are already clustered around honey on the small twigs near the branch where a man hangs. The setting intensifies the sense of entrapment and temptation amid danger.