Mahabharata 3.2.84 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 84

ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः

Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction

Devanagari script

सिद्धा हि यद्‌ यदिच्छन्ति कुर्वते तदनुग्रहात्‌ तस्मात्तप: समास्थाय कुरुष्वात्ममनोरथम्‌

Transliteration

siddhā hi yad yad icchanti kurvate tad anugrahāt | tasmāt tapaḥ samāsthāya kuruṣvātma-manoratham ||

Translation

Pois os ascetas realizados obtêm tudo o que verdadeiramente desejam pelo favor nascido de sua austeridade. Portanto, toma refúgio no tapas disciplinado e leva a termo o propósito do teu coração.

Word by Word

• सिद्धाः: accomplished (persons)
• सिद्धाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• यत्: whatever (thing) which
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यत्: whatever (thing) which
• यत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इच्छन्ति: they desire
• Type: Verb
• Root: इष् (इच्छ)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• कुर्वते: they accomplish/do (for themselves)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Atmanepada

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अनुग्रहात्: from (divine) favor/grace
• अनुग्रहात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• तस्मात्: therefore/from that reason
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्

• तपः: austerity/penance
• तपः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• समास्थाय: having resorted to/undertaken
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-स्था
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• कुरुष्व: do/fulfil (you)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular, Parasmaipada

• आत्म-मनोरथम्: your own wish/desire
• आत्म-मनोरथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन् + मनोरथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• शौनक (Śaunaka)
• सिद्ध पुरुष (siddha-puruṣa, accomplished ascetics)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Tapas (disciplined austerity) generates a spiritually efficacious force; those who are siddha can realize their aims through the grace/power arising from such practice. The verse urges undertaking tapas as the ethical means to fulfill one’s rightful intention.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka speaks as an advisor, pointing to the well-known capacity of perfected ascetics to accomplish desired ends through austerity, and he exhorts the listener to adopt tapas to achieve the intended objective.