Shloka 2

Śibi’s Weighing of Dharma

The Hawk and the Dove Trial) — शिबेर्धर्मतुला (श्येन-कपोतोक्तिः

Devanagari script

एवमाशी: प्रयुक्ता हि दक्षेण यजता पुरा । इह ये वै मरिष्यन्ति ते वै स्वर्गजितो नरा:,प्राचीनकालमें प्रजापति दक्षने यज्ञ करते समय यह आशीर्वाद दिया था कि जो मनुष्य यहाँ मरेंगे वे स्वर्गलोकपर अधिकार प्राप्त कर लेंगे। यह रमणीय, दिव्य और तीव्र प्रवाहवाली सरस्वती नदी है और यह सरस्वतीका विनशन नामक तीर्थ है

Transliteration

evam āśiḥ prayuktā hi dakṣeṇa yajatā purā | iha ye vai mariṣyanti te vai svargajito narāḥ ||

Translation

Assim, nos tempos antigos, enquanto Prajāpati Dakṣa realizava um sacrifício, foi proferida esta mesma bênção: “Os homens que morrerem aqui conquistarão, de fato, os reinos do céu.” A declaração consagra o lugar como um tīrtha: ali, a morte não é mera perda, mas uma passagem assegurada pela consagração sacrificial e pelo mérito religioso.

Word by Word

• {'evam': 'thus

• in this manner', 'āśiḥ': 'blessing

• benediction', 'prayuktā': 'uttered

• applied', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'dakṣeṇa': 'by Dakṣa (instrumental)', 'yajatā': 'by one sacrificing

• while performing a yajña', 'purā': 'formerly

• in ancient times', 'iha': 'here

• in this place', 'ye': 'those who', 'vai': 'indeed

• certainly (emphatic particle)', 'mariṣyanti': 'will die', 'te': 'they', 'svargajitaḥ': 'having conquered/won heaven

• heaven-attainers', 'narāḥ': 'men

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• svarga (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A place sanctified by ancient sacrificial authority (yajña) can be regarded as a tīrtha where even death is interpreted within dharma—as a meritorious transition that leads to heavenly attainment.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker cites an old benediction attributed to Prajāpati Dakṣa during a sacrifice, declaring that those who die at this location will attain heaven, thereby establishing the site’s exceptional sacred status.