Shloka 43

Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga

Non-attachment

Devanagari script

आकाशबमस्था ्र॒वं यत्र दोषं ब्रूयुविपश्चिताम्‌ । आत्मपूजाभिकामो वै को वसेत्‌ तत्र पण्डित:,जहाँके लोग बिना किसी आधारके ही विद्वान्‌ पुरुषोंपर निश्चितरूपसे दोषारोपण करते हों, उस देशमें आत्मसम्मानकी इच्छा रखनेवाला कौन मनुष्य निवास करेगा?

Transliteration

ākāśa-bam asthāśravaṃ yatra doṣaṃ brūyuḥ vipaścitām | ātma-pūjābhikāmo vai ko vaset tatra paṇḍitaḥ ||

Translation

ในแผ่นดินที่ผู้คนกล่าวโทษบัณฑิตผู้รอบรู้ด้วยความมั่นใจ ทั้งที่ไร้หลักฐาน—บัณฑิตผู้รักศักดิ์ศรีตนผู้ใดเล่าจะยอมพำนักอยู่ที่นั่น

Word by Word

आकाशम्the sky (as a baseless support)

अवस्थाa state/condition

यत्रwhere

दोषम्fault/blame

ब्रूयुःwould/should speak (say)

विपश्चिताम्of the wise/learned

आत्मपूजाभिकामःdesirous of self-respect (self-honour)

वैindeed

कःwho?

वसेत्would/should dwell

तत्रthere

पण्डितःa learned man

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

paṇḍita (the wise person, as a type)

vipaścit (the discerning/wise, as a group)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A society that indulges in groundless fault-finding of the wise is ethically degraded; a person who values dignity and right conduct should avoid such an environment, since slander corrodes dharma and undermines learning and virtue.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada delivers a pointed observation about social life: he describes a country where people confidently accuse discerning men without evidence, and he asks rhetorically who among the learned—seeking self-respect—would remain there.