Shloka 19

Adhyaya 4 — Jaimini Meets the Dharmapakshis: Four Doubts on the Mahabharata and the Opening of Narayana Doctrine

Sanskrit

कच्चित् ते कुशलं ब्रह्मन्नाश्रमे मृगपक्षिषु ।

वृक्षेष्वथ लता-गुल्म-त्वक्सार-तृणजातिषु ॥

Transliteration

kaccit te kuśalaṃ brahmann āśrame mṛgapakṣiṣu | vṛkṣeṣv atha latā-gulma-tvaksāra-tṛṇajātiṣu ||

Translation

హే బ్రాహ్మణా, ఆశ్రమంలో అన్నీ కుశలమేనా? జింకలు, పక్షులు, అలాగే వృక్షాలు, లతలు, పొదలు, తొక్క‑మజ్జ కలిగిన వనస్పతులు మరియు నానావిధ గడ్డి జాతులలో కూడా సర్వమంగళమేనా?

Word by Word

• कच्चित्: whether?, I hope
• कच्चित्: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/प्रश्न-निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कच्चित् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रश्नार्थक-निपात (interrogative particle)

• ते: of you/your
• ते: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Genitive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सर्वनाम; षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन (Singular)

• कुशलम्: well-being, welfare
• कुशलम्: Karma (कर्म/विषय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुशल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd Nom/Acc), एकवचन

• ब्रह्मन्: O Brahmin
• ब्रह्मन्: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सम्बोधन (Vocative/सम्बोधन), एकवचन

• आश्रमॆ: in the hermitage
• आश्रमॆ: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/स्थान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• मृग-पक्षिषु: among the deer and birds
• मृग-पक्षिषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/विषय-क्षेत्र)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृग (प्रातिपदिक) + पक्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वन्द्व-समास; पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन (Plural)

• वृक्षेषु: among the trees
• वृक्षेषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/विषय-क्षेत्र)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

• अथ: and then/also
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अनुक्रम/समुच्चयार्थक (sequencing/conjunctive particle)

• लता-गुल्म-त्वक्-सार-तृण-जातिषु: among the kinds of creepers, shrubs, bark, sap/essence, and grasses
• लता-गुल्म-त्वक्-सार-तृण-जातिषु: Adhikarana (अधिकरण/विषय-क्षेत्र)
• Type: Noun
• Root: लता (प्रातिपदिक) + गुल्म (प्रातिपदिक) + त्वक् (प्रातिपदिक) + सार (प्रातिपदिक) + तृण (प्रातिपदिक) + जाति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: समाहार/समुच्चयार्थक-समास (enumerative compound); स्त्रीलिङ्ग (head: जाति); सप्तमी (7th/Locative), बहुवचन

Speakers

• Unspecified interlocutor addressing a brāhmaṇa/āśrama-dweller (frame-dialogue courtesy inquiry)

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "bhakti", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Āśrama-life
• Ahimsā / care for living beings
• Ecological harmony
• Forest-hermitage culture

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Well-being in an āśrama is measured not only by the ascetic’s health but also by the harmony of the surrounding ecosystem—animals, birds, trees, and grasses. The verse reflects a dhārmic sensibility in which non-injury and guardianship of the forest community are integral to spiritual life.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

This verse is primarily frame-narrative dialogue and ethical texture rather than a direct statement of the five purāṇic characteristics (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It supports dharma/ācāra themes that often accompany purāṇic narration but does not itself present pancalakṣaṇa data.

What is the esoteric significance?

The āśrama is portrayed as a microcosm where inner order (tapas, sattva) resonates outward into the natural world. The enumeration—from animals and birds to trees, creepers, shrubs, and grasses—symbolizes layered vitality (prāṇa) across beings, implying that spiritual practice should produce concord across all strata of life.