Shloka 33

Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances

Devanagari script

अपराधीर्न तावन्तो भृत्या: शिष्टा नराधिपै: । उपघातैर्यथा भृत्या दूषिता निधनं गता:

Transliteration

aparādhīn na tāvanto bhṛtyāḥ śiṣṭā narādhipaiḥ | upaghātair yathā bhṛtyā dūṣitā dhanaṃ gatāḥ ||

Translation

Цари не наказали столь многих слуг за подлинные проступки, сколько тех слуг, что, запятнанные ложными обвинениями, были поражены царской жестокостью и доведены до гибели.

Word by Word

• अपराधीन्: offenders, guilty persons
• अपराधीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपराधिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तावन्तः: so many, that many
• तावन्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भृत्याः: servants, attendants
• भृत्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शिष्टाः: punished, chastised
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिष्ट
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नराधिपैः: by kings (lords of men)
• नराधिपैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• उपघातैः: by injuries/assaults, by attacks
• उपघातैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपघात
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• भृत्याः: servants
• भृत्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भृत्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दूषिताः: defiled, tainted, falsely accused
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दूषित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निधनम्: death, destruction
• निधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गताः: went to, reached (i.e., met with)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

शार्टूल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śārṭūla
• narādhipa (kings/rulers)
• bhṛtya (servants/retainers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Righteous governance requires careful discernment: punishment should follow proven wrongdoing, not rumor or slander. When rulers act on false charges, the innocent suffer ruin, and the king’s justice becomes violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śārṭūla reflects on the plight of dependents at court: many servants are destroyed not for real crimes but because they are tainted by fabricated allegations, leading rulers to strike them down or ruin them through punitive action.