Shloka 18

आरण्यकपर्वणि अध्यायः २१६ — इन्द्र-स्कन्द-संमुखता वज्रप्रहारश्च

Indra approaches Skanda; vajra strike and the arising of Viśākha

Devanagari script

मातापितृभ्यां शुश्रूषां करिष्ये वचनात्‌ तव । नाकृतात्मा वेदयति धर्माधर्मविनिश्चयम्‌,मैं आपके कहनेके अनुसार माता-पिताकी सेवा करूँगा। जिसका अन्तः:करण शुद्ध नहीं है, वह धर्म-अधर्मके निर्णयको बतला नहीं सकता

Transliteration

mātāpitr̥bhyāṁ śuśrūṣāṁ kariṣye vacanāt tava | nākṛtātmā vedayati dharmādharmaviniścayam ||

Translation

మీ వచనానుసారంగా నేను తల్లిదండ్రులకు శుశ్రూష చేస్తాను. అంతఃకరణం శుద్ధి-సంయమం లేనివాడు ధర్మాధర్మ నిర్ణయాన్ని నిజంగా గ్రహించలేడు.

Word by Word

माताmother

पितृभ्याम्to/for the two parents (father and mother)

शुश्रूषाम्service, attendance

करिष्येI shall do

वचनात्from (your) word; according to (your) command

तवof you; your

नnot

अकृतात्माone whose inner self is not disciplined/purified

वेदयतिmakes known; knows/understands

धर्मdharma, righteousness

अधर्मadharma, unrighteousness

विनिश्चयम्decision, determination

Speaker

ब्राह्मण उवाच

Characters & Entities

ब

ब्राह्मण (a Brahmin speaker)

म

माता (mother)

प

पिता (father)

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?

True moral judgment (deciding between dharma and adharma) requires an inner life that is cultivated—self-controlled, purified, and disciplined. Without such inner refinement, one’s pronouncements on ethics lack authority and clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin speaker affirms obedience to an instruction by committing to serve his parents. He then adds a reflective ethical principle: only a person with a trained and purified inner self is fit to determine and articulate what is truly righteous or unrighteous.