Shloka 2

Pātra-Lakṣaṇa and Niścita-Dharma

Marks of a Worthy Recipient and Stable Criteria of Dharma

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच अष्टावक्रोडन्वपृच्छत्‌ तां रूपं विकुरुषे कथम्‌ | नचानृतं ते वक्तव्यं ब्रूहि ब्राह्मणगकाम्यया

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: aṣṭāvakro ’nvapṛcchat tāṃ rūpaṃ vikuruṣe katham | na cānṛtaṃ te vaktavyaṃ brūhi brāhmaṇagakāmyayā ||

Translation

भीष्म उवाच—अष्टावक्रोऽन्वपृच्छत् तां स्त्रीं—“कथं त्वं रूपं विकुरुषे? यदि च मादृशस्य ब्राह्मणस्य सत्कारं सम्मतिं च काङ्क्षसि, न तेऽनृतं वक्तव्यम्; सत्यं ब्रूहि।”

Word by Word

• {'bhīṣma uvāca': 'Bhishma said', 'aṣṭāvakraḥ': "Aṣṭāvakra (a sage, literally 'eight-bent')", 'anvapṛcchat': 'asked, questioned (follow-up inquiry)', 'tām': 'her, that woman', 'rūpam': 'form, appearance', 'vikuruṣe': 'you alter/change (your form)', 'katham': 'how?, in what manner?', 'na ca': 'and not

• moreover, do not', 'anṛtam': 'falsehood, untruth', 'te': 'by you / for you', 'vaktavyam': 'to be spoken

• should be said', 'brūhi': 'speak, tell', 'brāhmaṇaga-kāmyayā': 'with the desire to be regarded/accepted by a brāhmaṇa (i.e., seeking a brāhmaṇa’s approval/respect)'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Aṣṭāvakra
• the woman (unnamed)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Truthfulness in speech is presented as a prerequisite for moral credibility and for receiving the esteem of the righteous; one who seeks a brāhmaṇa’s approval must not resort to anṛta (falsehood).

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma recounts how the sage Aṣṭāvakra interrogates a woman who repeatedly changes her appearance, insisting that she answer honestly and explain the reason for her shifting form.