Shloka 46

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

करभारभयाद्‌ भीता गृहस्था: परिमोषका: | मुनिच्छञाकृतिच्छन्ना वाणिज्यमुपजीविन:

Transliteration

karabhārabhayād bhītā gṛhasthāḥ parimoṣakāḥ | municchadākṛticchannā vāṇijyam upajīvinaḥ ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «Страшась опасности таскать тяжкие ноши, те разбойники внешне жили как домохозяева. Скрываясь под видом отшельников, они кормились торговлей, используя почтенные обличья как прикрытие для воровства».

Word by Word

करभारभयात्from fear of camels

भीताःfrightened

गृहस्थाःhouseholders

परिमोषकाःrobbers, plunderers

मुनिच्छद्माकृतिच्छन्नाःdisguised, concealed with the appearance/guise of sages

वाणिज्यम्trade, commerce

उपजीविनःliving by, subsisting on

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

robbers (parimoṣakāḥ)

householders (gṛhasthāḥ)

ascetics/sages (muni)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights adharma through hypocrisy: criminals adopt socially respected identities (householder, ascetic, merchant) as a protective disguise. It warns that outward marks of dharma can be misused, so ethical judgment must consider conduct, not merely appearance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a group of robbers who, fearing the risks of overt banditry and hard carrying-work, conceal their true nature. They present themselves as respectable householders and even as ascetics in appearance, while sustaining themselves through trade as a cover.