Shloka 65

Adhyaya 15 — Karmic Retribution: Rebirths After Naraka and the King’s Compassion in Hell

Sanskrit

प्राप्स्यन्त्यर्ता यदि सुखं बहवो दुःखिते मयि ।

किं नु प्राप्तं मया न स्यात् तस्मात् त्वं व्रज माचिरम् ॥

Transliteration

prāpsyanty ārtā yadi sukhaṃ bahavo duḥkhite mayi |

kinnu prāptaṃ mayā na syāt tasmāt tvaṃ vraja mā ciram ||

Translation

หากข้าพเจ้ายังคงอยู่ในความทุกข์ แต่สรรพสัตว์ผู้ถูกเบียดเบียนจำนวนมากได้ความสุข แล้วแท้จริงสิ่งใดเล่าที่ข้าพเจ้าจะไม่บรรลุ? เพราะฉะนั้นพวกท่านจงไป—อย่าชักช้า

Word by Word

• prāpsyanti: will obtain
• prāpsyanti: Kriyā (क्रिया); Karta=ārtāḥ
• Type: Verb
• Root: āp (धातु) + pra (उपसर्ग)
• Form: Future (लृट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Plural (बहुवचन), Parasmaipada

• ārtāḥ: the distressed people
• ārtāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ārta (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine (पुंलिङ्ग), Nominative (प्रथमा), Plural; ‘the afflicted’ (substantivized adjective)

• yadi: if
• yadi: Hetu/Śarti (हेतु/शर्त) marker
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yadi (अव्यय)
• Form: Conditional particle (शर्तबोधक अव्यय)

• sukham: happiness
• sukham: Karma (कर्म) of prāpsyanti
• Type: Noun
• Root: sukha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (द्वितीया), Singular

• bahavaḥ: many
• bahavaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of ārtāḥ
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural; qualifying ārtāḥ

• duḥkhite: in (my) suffering state
• duḥkhite: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण) with mayi (locative absolute-like sense)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: duḥkhita (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी), Singular; Masculine/Neuter possible; here agreeing with mayi (1st person) in sense ‘when I am suffering’

• mayi: in me
• mayi: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Locative (सप्तमी), Singular; 1st person pronoun

• kim: what
• kim: Prashna (प्रश्न) object of syāt
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; interrogative

• nu: indeed, then
• nu: Nipāta (निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: nu (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative/emphatic particle (निपात)

• prāptam: attained, gained
• prāptam: Karma/Predicative (कर्म/विधेय) with syāt
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāpta (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √āp + pra, क्त)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; used substantively ‘attained (thing)’

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (कर्ता) in passive sense with prāptam; or Instrument (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (तृतीया), Singular; ‘by me’

• na: not
• na: Nishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध)

• syāt: would be
• syāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Optative (विधिलिङ्), 3rd person, Singular, Parasmaipada

• tasmāt: therefore
• tasmāt: Hetu/Apādāna (हेतु/अपादान)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Ablative used adverbially (तस्मात् इति अव्ययीभाववत्); ‘therefore/from that reason’

• tvam: you
• tvam: Karta (कर्ता) of vraja
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Nominative, Singular; 2nd person pronoun

• vraja: go
• vraja: Kriyā (क्रिया) command
• Type: Verb
• Root: vraj (धातु)
• Form: Imperative (लोट्), 2nd person (मध्यमपुरुष), Singular, Parasmaipada

• mā: do not (for long)
• mā: Nishedha (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: mā (अव्यय)
• Form: Prohibitive particle (प्रतिषेधार्थक) used with imperative; here with ciram as ‘not long’

• ciram: for long
• ciram: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (काल-अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: cira (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Adverbial accusative (कालवाचक द्वितीया) functioning as indeclinable; ‘for a long time’

Speakers

• King (rājā) addressing the divine messenger(s) urging him to depart

Verse Rasa

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

Key Themes

• Dharma
• Altruism
• Renunciation of reward
• Bodhisattva-like resolve (non-Buddhist framing)

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The king treats others’ relief as his own highest attainment, dissolving the usual ‘me-first’ logic of merit. The ethic is ruler-centered dharma: the king’s body and destiny are instruments for the many.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Ethical instruction embedded in narrative (vaṃśānucarita-type exemplum). It supports purāṇic dharma teaching rather than cosmogenesis or manvantara chronology.

What is the esoteric significance?

‘Remaining in suffering’ can be read as voluntary descent into the world’s pain; the verse encodes the ideal of staying with saṃsāra’s burdens until others are uplifted, indicating spiritual maturity beyond reward-seeking.