Shloka 33

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

सुह्दां दुःखमार्तानां न प्रमोक्ष्यसि चार्तिजम्‌ । अलमर्थगुणैहीनं तेनासि हरिण: कृश:

Transliteration

suhṛdāṁ duḥkhamārtānāṁ na pramokṣyasi cārtijam | alam arthaguṇair hīnaṁ tenāsi hariṇaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

Translation

सुहृदां दुःखमार्तानां न प्रमोक्ष्यसि चार्तिजम् । अलमर्थगुणैर्हीनं तेनासि हरिणः कृशः ॥

Word by Word

• {'suhṛdām': 'of well-wishers, friends', 'duḥkha-mārtānām': 'of those distressed/afflicted by suffering', 'na pramokṣyasi': 'you do not (are not able to) release, deliver', 'ca': 'and', 'ārtijam': 'arising from affliction

• pain caused by distress', 'alam': 'sufficiently

• indeed (emphatic particle)', 'artha-guṇaiḥ': 'by the benefits/advantages of wealth

• material means and their utilities', 'hīnam': 'devoid of, lacking', 'tena': 'therefore, for that reason', 'asi': 'you are', 'hariṇaḥ': 'like a deer

• deer', 'kṛśaḥ': 'thin, emaciated'}

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• ब्राह्मण (speaker)
• सुहृद् (friends/well-wishers)
• हरिण (deer, as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse stresses ethical responsibility toward one’s well-wishers: if friends and dependents suffer and one cannot relieve their distress—especially due to lack of material means—this becomes a moral and social failing, reflected metaphorically in one’s weakened state.

What is happening in the narrative?

A brāhmaṇa addresses someone who appears pale and thin, attributing this condition to two linked causes: the suffering of the person’s friends and relatives, and the person’s inability—through lack of wealth/resources—to remove their pain.