Shloka 243

Devanagari script

न च ते तपसो नाशमिच्छामि तपतां वर । मैं आपको अध्यात्मतत्त्व सुना रहा हूँ। उसे सुननेके पश्चात्‌ यदि आपकी इच्छा हो तो आज मुझे शाप दीजियेगा। तपस्वी पुरुषोंमें श्रेष्ठ महर्ष!ी आप यह याद रखिये कि कोई भी पुरुष थोड़ी-सी तपस्याके बलपर मेरा तिरस्कार नहीं कर सकता। मैं नहीं चाहता कि आपकी तपस्या नष्ट हो जाय

Transliteration

na ca te tapaso nāśam icchāmi tapatāṃ vara | adhyātma-tattvaṃ te śṛṇu; tac chrutvā yadi tecchā syāt, adya māṃ śāpaṃ dāsyasi | tapasvināṃ variṣṭha maharṣe, idaṃ smara—na kaścid alpa-tapasā māṃ tiraskartuṃ śaknoti | na icchāmi tava tapasāṃ nāśaḥ bhavet |

Translation

“เรามิปรารถนาให้ตบะของท่านพินาศเลย โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐในหมู่นักบำเพ็ญตบะ. เราจะกล่าวความจริงแห่งอาตมันแก่ท่าน; เมื่อได้ฟังแล้ว หากท่านยังประสงค์อยู่ ก็จงสาปเราในวันนี้เถิด. แต่จงจำไว้เถิด โอ้มหาฤษี ผู้เป็นยอดแห่งผู้ทรงตบะ—ไม่มีผู้ใดอาศัยเพียงตบะเล็กน้อยแล้วจะดูหมิ่นเราได้. เรามิปรารถนาให้ตบะของท่านสูญสิ้น.”

Word by Word

{'na ca''and not

nor', 'te''your (to you)', 'tapasaḥ': 'of austerity

of penance (tapas)', 'nāśam''destruction

ruin', 'icchāmi''I wish

I desire', 'tapatām vara''O best among those who practice austerity', 'adhyātma-tattvam': 'the truth/principle of the Self

spiritual reality', 'śṛṇu/śṛṇomi (contextual)''hear

listen', 'śrutvā''having heard', 'icchā': 'desire

intention', 'adya''today

now', 'śāpam''curse', 'dāsyasi': 'you will give

you may bestow', 'tapasvinām variṣṭha''foremost among ascetics', 'maharṣe': 'O great seer', 'smara': 'remember', 'kaścit': 'anyone

any person', 'alpa-tapasā''with little austerity

by slight penance', 'tiraskartuṃ''to insult

to treat with contempt', 'śaknoti''is able

can', 'bhavet''might be

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyudeva (the Wind-god)

Mahārṣi (addressed sage/ascetic)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Spiritual power (tapas) should be protected and guided toward self-knowledge; anger and cursing can squander merit, so one should listen to adhyātma first and act with restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva addresses a great ascetic who is inclined to curse him; Vāyu urges him to hear a teaching on the Self first, warning that contempt or rash cursing—especially based on limited tapas—can lead to the loss of austerity’s fruit.