Shloka 2

Virūpākṣa’s Dāna and Gautama’s Burden — the approach of Rājadharma

Devanagari script

कण्टकान्‌ कूपमरग्निं च वर्जयन्ति यथा नरा: । तथा नृशंसकर्माणं वर्जयन्ति नरा नरम्‌

Transliteration

kaṇṭakān kūpam agniṃ ca varjayanti yathā narāḥ | tathā nṛśaṃsakarmāṇaṃ varjayanti narā naram ||

Translation

ดังที่ผู้คนหลีกเลี่ยงหนาม บ่อ และไฟเมื่อพบระหว่างทาง ฉันใด ผู้คนก็หลีกห่างชายผู้ประกอบกรรมอันโหดเหี้ยมฉันนั้น—เว้นเสียแต่ไกล

Word by Word

• कण्टकान्: thorns
• कण्टकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्टक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कूपम्: a well
• कूपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अग्निम्: fire
• अग्निम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• वर्जयन्ति: avoid, shun
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृज् (वर्जयति)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• यथा: as, just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• नराः: men, people
• नराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: so, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• नृशंसकर्माणम्: a doer of cruel deeds
• नृशंसकर्माणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृशंसकर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वर्जयन्ति: avoid, shun
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृज् (वर्जयति)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• नराः: men, people
• नराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नरम्: a man (such a person)
• नरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• thorns (kaṇṭaka)
• well (kūpa)
• fire (agni)
• cruel-doer (nṛśaṃsakarmā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cruel action makes a person socially and morally hazardous; just as one instinctively avoids physical dangers, society naturally avoids those known for merciless deeds. The verse highlights the reputational and ethical consequence of nṛśaṃsatā (cruelty): it isolates the doer and marks him as a danger to others.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about moral conduct and its effects. Here he uses a simple road-side analogy—thorns, wells, and fire—to explain how people respond to a cruel person: they keep away, treating him like a peril to be avoided.