Shloka 13

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

Chapter 11

Devanagari script

इदं चोवाच वचन रुरुमप्रतिमौजसम्‌ | अहिंसा परमो धर्म: सर्वप्राणभूतां वर,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

idaṃ covāca vacanaṃ rurum apratimaujasam | ahiṃsā paramo dharmaḥ sarvaprāṇabhūtānāṃ vara ||

Translation

Затем он обратился к Руру, чья мощь была несравненна: «О лучший среди всех живых существ, ненасилие (ахимса) — высшая дхарма». В рамке повествования прославленный брахман — тот, кто принял облик барабаноподобного существа Дунḍубхи, — сбрасывает эту личину, возвращается к своему сияющему истинному облику и затем наставляет Руру этой нравственной заповедью.

Word by Word

• {'idaṃ': 'this', 'ca': 'and', 'uvāca': 'said, spoke', 'vacanam': 'speech, statement, utterance', 'rurum': 'Ruru (proper name

• addressed/mentioned)', 'apratima': 'unequalled, incomparable', 'ojas': 'vigor, energy, spiritual/heroic potency', 'apratimaujasam': 'one whose energy is incomparable', 'ahiṃsā': 'non-violence

• refraining from injury', 'paramaḥ': 'supreme, highest', 'dharmaḥ': 'dharma

• righteous duty, moral law, right conduct', 'sarva': 'all', 'prāṇa': 'breath

• life-force', 'bhūta': 'living being, creature', 'sarvaprāṇabhūtānām': 'of all living beings (those endowed with life-breath)', 'vara': 'best, excellent one (vocative sense: ‘O best…’)'}

Speaker

डुण्ड्रुभ उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dundubha
• Ruru
• Vipra (brahmin sage; implied as the one speaking/transforming)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that ahiṃsā (non-violence, non-injury) is the highest form of dharma, presented as a universal ethical principle applying to all living beings.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brahmin who had taken the form of Dundubha gives up that assumed form, returns to his radiant true form, and then addresses Ruru with an ethical instruction emphasizing non-violence.