Shloka 32

अध्याय २९७ — श्रेयः, धृति, दान-नियमाः

Welfare, Steadfastness, and Norms of Giving

Devanagari script

इयं हि योनि: प्रथमा यां प्राप्प जगतीपते । आत्मा वै शक्यते त्रातुं कर्मभि: शुभलक्षणै:

Transliteration

iyaṁ hi yoniḥ prathamā yāṁ prāpya jagatīpate | ātmā vai śakyate trātuṁ karmabhiḥ śubhalakṣaṇaiḥ ||

Translation

Ибо, о владыка земли, человеческое рождение — наивысшее из состояний бытия; достигнув его, человек воистину может спасти себя деяниями, отмеченными благими признаками.

Word by Word

• इयम्: this
• इयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

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

• योनि: womb/birth; species; mode of birth
• योनि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योनि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रथमा: first/primary
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रथम
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• याम्: which/whom (that)
• याम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्राप्य: having obtained
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• जगतीपते: O lord of the earth/world
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगतीपतिः
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• आत्मा: self/soul
• आत्मा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वै: indeed/verily
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• शक्यते: is able to be/can be
• Type: Verb
• Root: शक्
• Form: Lat, Present, Passive, Third, Singular

• त्रातुम्: to save/deliver
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रा
• Form: तुमुन् (infinitive)

• कर्मभिः: by actions/deeds
• कर्मभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शुभलक्षणैः: with auspicious characteristics; virtuous
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभलक्षण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

पराशर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Parāśara
• jagatīpati (addressed king)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Human birth is presented as the foremost and uniquely effective state for spiritual progress: by performing virtuous, auspiciously qualified actions (śubha-karmas), one can 'save' or uplift the self (ātmā), implying ethical conduct as a means to inner deliverance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Parāśara addresses a ruler ('jagatīpati'), instructing him on the value of human life within a broader Śānti Parva discourse on dharma and right conduct, emphasizing that this birth enables purposeful moral action leading to self-uplift.