Shloka 24

Devanagari script

ये ते वेदा: शरीरस्था ब्राह्माण्यं यच्च ते महत्‌ । तपश्च ते महत्‌ तप्तं न तेभ्य: प्रहराम्यहम्‌

Transliteration

ye te vedāḥ śarīrasthā brāhmaṇyaṁ yac ca te mahat | tapaś ca te mahat taptaṁ na tebhyaḥ praharāmy aham ||

Translation

ये ते वेदाः शरीरस्थाः ब्राह्मण्यं यच्च ते महत् । तपश्च ते महत्तप्तं न तेभ्यः प्रहराम्यहम् ॥

Word by Word

• ये: which (those)
• ये: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: of you/your
• ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• वेदाः: Vedas
• वेदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शरीरस्थाः: dwelling in (your) body
• शरीरस्थाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शरीरस्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ब्राह्माण्यम्: Brahminhood, brahminical status
• ब्राह्माण्यम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्राह्माण्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ते: of you/your
• ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तपः: austerity, penance
• तपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तपस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• ते: of you/your
• ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तप्तम्: performed, undergone (austerity)
• तप्तम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तेभ्यः: from them / with regard to them
• तेभ्यः: Apadana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Plural

• प्रहरामि: I strike, I attack
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हृ
• Form: Present, 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

राम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Vedas
• brāhmaṇya (brahminhood)
• tapas (austerity)
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid conflict, one must restrain violence in deference to dharma—honoring sacred learning (Vedas), brahminhood, and ascetic merit, and refusing to attack in a way that desecrates those revered qualities.

What is happening in the narrative?

Rāma addresses a revered brāhmaṇa-like opponent and declares that he will not aim his weapons at the opponent’s sanctity—his embodied Vedic learning, brahmin status, and accumulated tapas—thus framing the encounter within ethical limits.