Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 128 Shloka 22 - Mahabharata | Sanskrit | Vedapath

Vyasa

←Previous VerseNext Verse→

Shloka 22

अध्याय १२८: शिव–उमा संवादः — तिलोत्तमा, श्मशान-मेध्यता, तथा चातुर्वर्ण्य-धर्मः

Chapter 128: Śiva–Umā Dialogue—Tilottamā, the Ritual Valence of the Śmaśāna, and the Fourfold Duty-Code

Devanagari script

(सुदुर्विनीत: पुत्रो वा जामाता वा प्रमार्जक: । दारा वा प्रतिकूलास्ते तेनासि हरिण: कृश: ।।

Transliteration

sudurvinītaḥ putro vā jāmātā vā pramārjakaḥ | dārā vā pratikūlāste tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

bhrātaro'tīva viṣamāḥ pitā vā kṣutkṣato mṛtaḥ | mātā jyeṣṭho gururvāpi tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

brāhmaṇo vā hato gaurvā brahmasvaṃ vā hṛtaṃ purā | devasvaṃ vādhikaṃ kāle tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

hṛtadāro'tha vṛddho vā loke dviṣṭo'tha vā naraiḥ | avijñānena vā vṛddhastenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

vārthakārthaṃ dhana dṛṣṭvā svāṃ śrīrvāpi paraiḥ hṛtā | vṛttirvā durjanāpekṣā tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

iṣṭabhāryasya te nūnaṃ prātiveśyo mahādhanaḥ | yuvā sulalitaḥ kāmī tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

Translation

ब्राह्मण उवाच— सुदुर्विनीतः पुत्रो वा जामाता वा प्रमार्जकः । दाराः वा प्रतिकूलास्ते तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥ भ्रातरोऽतीव विषमाः पिता वा क्षुत्क्षतो मृतः । माता ज्येष्ठो गुरुर्वापि तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥ ब्राह्मणो वा हतो गौर्वा ब्रह्मस्वं वा हृतं पुरा । देवस्वं वाधिकं काले तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥ हृतदारोऽथ वृद्धो वा लोके द्विष्टोऽथ वा नरैः । अविज्ञानेन वा वृद्धस्तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥ वार्धक्यार्थं धनं दृष्ट्वा स्वां श्रीर्वापि परैर्हृता । वृत्तिर्वा दुर्जनापेक्षा तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥ इष्टभार्यस्य ते नूनं प्रातिवेश्यो महाधनः । युवा सुललितः कामी तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥

Word by Word

सुदुर्विनीतःvery ill-disciplined

पुत्रःson

वाor

जामाताson-in-law

वाor

प्रमार्जकःone who cleans/sweeps (i.e., one who wipes out/appropriates)

दाराःwife (lit. wives; used for spouse)

वाor

प्रतिकूलाःhostile, adverse

तेthey (those of yours)

तेनby that, because of that

असिyou are

हरिणःpale/yellowish (lit. deer-colored)

कृशःthin, emaciated

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

brāhmaṇa (speaker)

putra (son)

jāmātā (son-in-law)

dārā/bhāryā (wife)

bhrātaraḥ (brothers)

pitā (father)

mātā (mother)

jyeṣṭha (elder brother)

guru (teachers/elders)

brāhmaṇa (as potential victim)

gauḥ (cow)

brahmasvam (Brahmin-property)

devasvam (property of the gods)

prātiveśya (neighbor)

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 passage probes the moral and social causes behind a person’s visible decline: domestic disorder, dependence on the wicked, social hatred, and especially grave transgressions like harming a Brahmin or cow or stealing sacred property. It implies that inner ethical failure and unresolved wrongdoing manifest outwardly as anxiety, loss of vitality, and misfortune.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin addresses a man who appears emaciated and pale, offering a series of possible explanations—ranging from family troubles and bereavement to theft, abduction, old age, social enmity, and serious sins. The repeated refrain ‘therefore you are thin and pale’ functions as a diagnostic, pressing the listener toward self-examination and confession of the true cause.