Shloka 65

Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्

Devanagari script

कश्यप उवाच नैतस्थेह यथास्माकं चत्वारश्न सहोदरा: । देहि देहीति भिक्षन्ति तेन पीवाउछुना सह

Transliteration

kaśyapa uvāca | naitastheha yathāsmākaṃ catvāraś ca sahodarāḥ | dehi dehīti bhikṣanti tena pīvau chunā saha |

Translation

காச்யபர் கூறினார்—இவன் நம்மைப் போல அல்ல. ஒரே தாய்க்குப் பிறந்த நான்கு சகோதரர்கள் தினமும் ‘கொடு, கொடு’ என்று எங்களிடம் யாசிக்கிறார்கள்; ஆகவே பெரிய குடும்பத்தின் உணவு-உடைப் பாரத்தை நாமே சுமக்க வேண்டியுள்ளது. இந்த சந்நியாசிக்கு அத்தகைய கவலை இல்லை; அதனால் நாயுடன் இருந்தும் இவன் புஷ்டி பெற்றான்.

Word by Word

• {'kaśyapa uvāca': 'Kashyapa said', 'na etastha iha': 'not like this here

• not in this manner', 'yathā asmākam': 'as (it is) for us', 'catvāraḥ': 'four', 'sahodarāḥ': 'uterine brothers

• brothers born of the same mother', 'dehi dehīti': '‘give, give!’ (repeated plea)', 'bhikṣanti': 'they beg

• they ask for alms', 'tena': 'therefore

• for that reason', 'pīva': 'fat

• stout', 'chunā': 'with coarse food

• with rough fare (i.e., simple, unrefined sustenance)', 'saha': 'together with'}

Speaker

कश्यप उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kaśyapa
• four brothers (sahodarāḥ)
• a renunciant/saṃnyāsin
• dog

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kashyapa contrasts the householder’s obligations—supporting dependents who constantly ask for provisions—with the renunciant’s freedom from such anxieties. The point is that contentment and ‘well-being’ can arise from reduced attachment and responsibility, not from abundance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kashyapa explains why a renunciant appears comparatively well-nourished: unlike Kashyapa’s situation, where four brothers depend on him for daily sustenance, the ascetic has no large household to maintain and thus can live simply—sharing coarse food even with a dog—without the stress of provisioning many.