Shloka 12

Ruru–Ḍuṇḍubha Saṃvāda: Śāpa, Mokṣa, and Ahiṃsā-Upadeśa

Chapter 11

Devanagari script

स डौण्डुभं परित्यज्य रूपं विप्रर्षभस्तदा । स्वरूपं भास्वरं भूय: प्रतिपेदे महायशा:,इतना कहकर महायशस्वी विप्रवर सहस्रपादने डुण्डुभका रूप त्यागकर पुनः अपने प्रकाशमान स्वरूपको प्राप्त कर लिया। फिर अनुपम ओजवाले रुरुसे यह बात कही --'समस्त प्राणियोंमें श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मण! अहिंसा सबसे उत्तम धर्म है

Transliteration

sa dauṇḍubhaṁ parityajya rūpaṁ viprarṣabhas tadā | svarūpaṁ bhāsvaraṁ bhūyaḥ pratipede mahāyaśāḥ ||

Translation

Сказав это, прославленный — бык среди брахманов — оставил облик Дауṇḍубхи и вновь обрел свою собственную, сияющую изначальную природу. В повествовательной рамке это преображение подводит к нравственному наставлению: высшая дхарма — ненасилие (ахимса), обращенное к первейшему брахману как руководящий принцип поведения по отношению ко всем живым существам.

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he', 'dauṇḍubham': 'Dauṇḍubha (a named form/identity

• here the assumed form)', 'parityajya': 'having abandoned, having relinquished', 'rūpam': 'form, appearance', 'viprarṣabhaḥ': 'best of Brahmins

• bull among Brahmins (honorific)', 'tadā': 'then, at that time', 'svarūpam': 'one’s own true form, original nature', 'bhāsvaram': 'radiant, shining, luminous', 'bhūyaḥ': 'again, once more', 'pratipede': 'attained, regained, came to', 'mahāyaśāḥ': 'greatly renowned, illustrious'}

Speaker

डुण्ड्रुभ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dauṇḍubha
• viprarṣabha (a Brahmin addressed/identified)
• Ruru (contextual narrative addressee in the given passage)
• ahiṃsā (non-violence, as a principle)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The episode is used to foreground ahiṃsā (non-violence) as the श्रेष्ठ/उत्तम धर्म—an ethical ideal urging restraint and compassion toward all beings, especially emphasized in instruction to a foremost Brahmin.

What is happening in the narrative?

After speaking, the illustrious Brahmin who had assumed the identity/form called ‘Dauṇḍubha’ abandons that guise and returns to his own radiant true form; this transformation sets the stage for a moral exhortation about ahiṃsā.