Shloka 10

Duḥṣantasya Vana-praveśaḥ

King Duḥṣanta’s Entry into the Forest Hunt

Devanagari script

धर्मशीला जनपदा: सुसंतोषाश्न साधव: । न च मिथ्याप्रलापो>त्र स्वैरेष्वपि कुतोडन्यथा

Transliteration

dharmaśīlā janapadāḥ susantoṣāś ca sādhavaḥ | na ca mithyāpralāpo 'tra svair eṣv api kuto 'nyathā ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «Люди той страны были преданы дхарме — довольные и добродетельные. В том царстве не было ни лживых, ни пустых речей; даже в делах, предоставленных личному выбору, как могло бы быть отступление от правого?»

Word by Word

धर्मशीलाःvirtuous; of righteous conduct

जनपदाःcountries/realms; communities

सुसन्तोषाःwell-contented; very satisfied

चand

साधवःgood people; the virtuous

नnot

चand

मिथ्याfalsely; untruthfully

प्रलापःtalk; prattle; speech

अत्रhere; in this place/realm

स्वैरेषुamong the self-willed; among the independent

अपिeven; also

कुतःwhence? how (could it be)?

अन्यथाotherwise; differently

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

janapadāḥ (the people of the realm)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A society grounded in dharma is marked by contentment, virtue, and truthfulness; when people are ethically formed, even personal freedom (svaira) does not lead to wrongdoing or ‘otherwise’ conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the moral character of a particular country’s inhabitants, emphasizing their righteous nature and the absence of false speech as a sign of a well-ordered, dharmic community.